The central aim of this paper is to present the results of a research that evaluated one of the components of the 'management shock' adopted by the government of the state of Minas Gerais: the partnership contracts sealed with the Oscips. Defined as an integrated set of development-oriented public management policies, 'Management shock' is a results-driven management model based on several contracting practices. The field research carried out over 2007 verified how the responsible for contracting (government) and implementing (Oscips) the services established in the main partnership contracts with the government of the state of Minas Gerais understand and justify the results-driven management model. To answer this question, three Oscips from Minas Gerais were selected, considering their conceptual and operational diversity. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with Oscips and Minas Gerais government representatives and were reviewed through content analysis. The research results show that the new management model is already incorporated in the Oscips discourses, but also highlight some discursive paradoxes on the centrality of the State's new role vis-à-vis the criticism of its bureaucratic structures.
Oscips; partnership contracts; 'management shock'; administrative reforms
