GOVERNMENT AT A GLANCE: DIGITAL INNOVATION, ACTIVE TRANSPARENCY, AND PUBLIC TRUST IN BRAZILIAN MUNICIPAL MANAGEMENT

Abstract

This article discusses digital innovation as a transparency instrument in public administration and its effects on institutional credibility, with an emphasis on Brazilian local government. Considering the expansion of digital transformation and government data platforms, it examines how transparency portals, electronic process systems, and participation mechanisms (digital ombudsman offices and e-participation channels) can strengthen accountability, reduce information asymmetries, and expand social oversight. A qualitative, theoretical, and exploratory approach is adopted, based on a bibliographic review of recent and classic literature on innovation, transparency, digital government, open data, and public trust. Findings indicate that digitalization tends to increase the visibility of administrative acts and enhance social monitoring capacity, strengthening government credibility when combined with information quality, citizen-oriented language, data governance, responsiveness, and digital inclusion. Relevant challenges remain: digital exclusion, low portal usability, system fragmentation, organizational resistance, risks of “formal transparency” (mere procedural compliance), and tensions between transparency and personal data protection. The study concludes that digital innovation is a facilitating condition—but not a sufficient one—for public credibility, requiring integrated strategies of management, public communication, and inclusion.