ABSTRACT
This study aims to conduct an investigation into the formation and implementation of a water and sanitation consortium in southern Brazil in view of the new scenario both established by the Public Consortia Act n. 11.107/2005, and the Sanitation Guidelines Act n. 11.445/2007. For municipalities to fulfill the guidelines of the National Basic Sanitation Act and achieve universal service deliver, an opportunity to use the instrument of the consortium agreement arises. Thus, the public consortium may be a feasible mechanism for smaller municipalities, improving their technical, administrative and operational capabilities in the provision of water and sanitation services. The conceptual framework of the study involved contributions from authors that draw on theories of social capital. The empirical work was developed on the Paraná Intermunicipal Environment Consortium (CISMAE) due to be one of the first in the field and to the peculiarity of its conformation. The methodology was qualitative in nature. Semi-structured interviews with members of the consortium, which were analyzed using thematic content analysis, were used as field instrument. The results revealed that the creation of the public consortium is an important factor to stimulate the implementation and management of water and sanitation policies in the territories, which it encompasses. The benefits due to the existence of the consortium to the municipalities are multiple, as the potentiation of socioeconomic, technological and human resources, and therefore the rationalization of and greater transparency in resources application, greater legal certainty to the consortium cooperation agreement and political empowerment.
Keywords:
public consortium; water supply and sanitation public policies; social capital
