Who We Are

IBAM's mission is to promote Municipalities as autonomous spheres of government and to strengthen their ability to formulate policies, provide services and foster local development, aiming at a democratic society and citizenship empowerment.

Working toward the public sector institutional development and the improvement of  relations between government and society  are the key elements behind our actions. We develop projects with different objectives and characteristics, resulting in the preparation of reports, draft legislative bills, plans, and various kinds of managerial tools.

IBAM has been active both in Brazil and abroad; over the last few years our presence has been more frequent in Latin American and Portuguese-speaking African countries.

The Institute has other important attributes: it plays an advocacy role in defense of local government, uses its know-how in support of Municipal Associations and Movements, and is permanently engaged in commissions and working groups tackling local issues and emerging critical aspects of Federalism in Brazil.

IBAM`s approach to putting its mission into practice has helped strengthen a network of Municipalities which now numbers over 4,300 members. Networking also enables IBAM to keep a permanent two-way channel open with its peers, allowing its staff to participate actively in discussion groups and forums, to build partnerships, and to exchange knowledge and practices.

The Brazilian Institute of Municipal Administration - IBAM - is non-profit civil association  created on October 1st, 1952, with headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. Its foundation was supported by municipal associations  and movements related to Brazilian municipalism.

Actions

Studies and Research on major issues regarding public administration, particularly at the municipal level, which provide important inputs to other actions the Institute is engaged in or to subsidize public policies in general.

Technical Advisory Services to help ensure that institutional development is truly a commitment for the public sector; services are delivered both on site and  at distance.

Capacity building, focused on building competencies and specific abilities among policy-makers, public officials, and social and community leaders, in classroom and at a distance, through workshops, seminars and the like. The actions are carried out either in the city of Rio de Janeiro or  decentralized, in this case working with local partners. 

Major Topics

Organization  and Management

• Accounting, Financial and Budget Controls
• Fiscal Planning, Policies and Legislation, including Tax Control
• Public Competitions, Contracts and Bidding
• Institutional Organization and Management Alternatives
• Partnerships and Consortia (intermunicipal, intergovernmental, public/private)
• Human Resources Management and Development
• Information Technology

Urban Development and Environment

• Urban and Environmental Planning, Management and Indicators
• Urban Mobility and Accessibility Policies and Planning
• Land Use Legislation
• Housing, Slum Upgrading and Land Tenure Policies and Planning
• Energy Efficiency for Municipalities
• Environmental Sanitation Policies and Planning
• Integrated Solid Waste Management Policies and Planning
• Clean Development Mechanisms, Policies and Studies

Social and Economic Development

• Local and Regional Economic Development
• Participatory Decision-Making mechanisms and tools, Forums and Councils
• Empowering Public Policies: Human Rights and Citizenship, Gender and Racial Inclusion
• Children, Young and Older People  Public Policies: Welfare policies: planning and institutionalization alternatives
• Digital inclusion and Electronic Government
• Job and income generation opportunities, microcredit and microfinance

To whom IBAM works

• Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches of the federal, state and municipal governments;
• Urban regions, capital cities, small- and medium-size Municipalities from all States of the Brazilian Federation;
• National, state and regional associations of Municipalities and inter-municipal consortia;
• International, regional and national projects for countries in  Latin America and in  Portuguese-Speaking Africa;
• International bi-lateral and multilateral cooperation agencies from Canada, European Union, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Spain, USA and United Kingdom among others;
• Development banks; both regional and global, such as the Interamerican Development Bank (IADB), the German Credit Bank for Reconstruction (KFW) and The World Bank;
• Agencies and Programs of the United Nations System – delegates and missions from different countries to whom IBAM tailors special seminars, technical meetings and visits.

Outreaching

• Online database with exclusive access to our cooperating partners, where they can find out  legal  opinions and counseling, technical or explanatory notes, IBAM magazine and newsletter;
• Technical Publications
  • Books and manuals on public legislation, urban issues, fiscal and public finance matters,
  • Specialized manuals to help Mayors and City Council members to deal with their respective functional responsibilities,
  • Revista de Administração Municipal  Municípios, published since 1954,  with abstracts in English and Spanish,
    Bulletins on fiscal and economic subjects to help decision making at the local level.
• Informative Publications
  • Noticiário IBAM, published monthly, with news of interest to Municipal Governments, distributed to the almost 6,000 Brazilian Municipalities,
  • Noticiário Internacional, a quarterly electronic newsletter in Portuguese, Spanish and English distributed to an array of national, regional and international leading organizations and individuals;
  • IBAM Urgente, a media used to disclose new legislation, jurisprudence, general procedures emerging at state or national governing level, all expected to create immediate impact over local government practices.
• Technical documentation and publications of historical significance on municipal administration, governance and local development in Brazil are available for consultation by researchers and practitioners at IBAM´s library.

Laboratório de
Administração Municipal

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