Planning and financing public policies: The case of the State Fund for Combating and Eradicating Poverty in Alagoas

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship between public policy planning and financing, focusing on the State Fund for Combating and Eradicating Poverty (FECOEP), established by Law No. 6,558/2004 in the state of Alagoas. The study investigates how the absence of strategic planning impacted the functioning of the Integrated Council for Social Inclusion Policies (CIPIS), the body responsible for approving funded projects, which, between 2018 and 2023, applied more than R$ 2 billion of the fund's resources to actions proposed by different actors in Alagoas society. The methodology adopted is based on a case study, with an analysis of 75 minutes of regular meetings of the Integrated Council for Social Inclusion Policies (CIPIS) in which 683 projects were presented for financing. The results reveal an institutional concentration in the applicant entities, although there is a diversity of thematic areas; recurrent extension of projects without presentation and evaluation of results, despite the presentation of accounts for each project; and concentration of decisions in the state executive. It is concluded that the effectiveness of FECOEP depends on the development of a structured state plan, with goals, indicators, and active social participation, in order to ensure that the funds raised fulfill their function of combating poverty.