Luanna Sant Anna Roncaratti, Deputy Secretary, Digital Government, Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services, Brazil

1. How do you use your role to ensure that technology and policy are truly inclusive? 

As it is broadly known, Brazil is a complex, heterogeneous country, with an enormous population and great geographical, economic and social challenges. Even so, the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services through the Secretariat for Digital Government has paved the way for consistent digital transformation in the public sector over the past years.  

I believe that it is possible to make interactions with the public sector more accessible and intuitive and that digital technologies are fundamental means to make it possible. But to promote inclusion, it is pivotal to acknowledge that technologies also pose risks which need to be mitigated with a sound base of democratic values, such as transparency, accessibility, safety, ethics, responsibility and social justice. 

2. What’s a moment in your career when you saw firsthand how technology or a new policy changed a citizen’s life for the better? 

The GOV.BR platform has more than 170 million users with active accounts, which corresponds to over 80% of our population. It is remarkable to see how this number continues to grow consistently and how GOV.BR has been widely recognized by our population.  

In recent years, it has become common to see recognition for GOV.BR on social media and in everyday situations. This recognition makes us very happy and fills our team with pride in contributing it.  

3. What was the most impactful project you worked on this year, and how did you measure its success in building trust and serving the needs of the public? 

One of the most impactful projects we are working on is the new National Identity Card (CIN). Previously, the identification system was completely fragmented, and a person could have 27 different identification documents in Brazil.  

We changed this scenario with the CIN by introducing a new model featuring a unique number with a national standard, and full integration with the GOV.BR account, which serves as our digital identity—while preserving the states’ autonomy and their role in issuing documents.  

We are investing in the creation of the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Civil Identification, which will use CIN data as the basis for identifying individuals in public policies and contribute to simplifying people’s access to public policies. 

4. What was one unexpected lesson you learned this year about designing for real people? This can be about a specific project or a broader lesson about your work. 

I wouldn´t say it is an unexpected lesson, but we are observing an impressive data this year. In February we launched a new component of the GOV.BR account: the digital post. Through this mailbox, the federal government sends personalized messages, informing people about actions they need to carry out.  

About 60 million messages were sent this year, and we have we achieved a 95% satisfaction rate with the initiative. It indicates that people in Brazil truly appreciate a proactive approach from the government in meeting their needs.  

5. We hear a lot about AI. What's a practical example of how AI can be used to make government services more inclusive and trustworthy? 

We have started a project called INSPIRE – Artificial Intelligence in Public Service with Innovation, Responsibility, and Ethics. The goal is to create AI platforms to support and optimize the development of solutions for public policies. 

A resident of a riverside community in the Amazon, for example, who is entitled to a government benefit will receive what she needs proactively. To make it possible, communication channels with language tailored to the user will be adopted, supported by conversational models that promote better interaction. The goal is to make these solutions available as platforms so that all public agencies can apply them in their policies.  

6. How are you preparing for the next wave of change in the public sector? What new skill, approach, or technology are you most excited to explore in the coming year? 

I believe we are living through a significant moment, in which the combination of an increasingly people-centered approach, the ethical use of artificial intelligence, and strong data governance becomes essential for transforming public administration. 

We understand that the concept of digital public infrastructure is important for preparing us for the next waves of change in the public sector. In this sense, strengthening our digital identity and data governance is fundamental to foresee society’s future needs.  

 
We are carrying out a very important initiative named National Data Infrastructure (IND), which is a set of policies, standards, and tools, to integrate, qualify and protect data — but above all, to use it strategically to promote effective public policies.  It means recognizing that generating data is not enough. We need to promote data quality, interoperability, and generating good basis for AI applications as well.  

7. What advice do you have for public sector innovators who want to build a career focused on serving all citizens? 

 
I truly believe that the main objective of a democratic State is to promote inclusive and effective public policies that meet people’s needs and improve people´s lives. And it is crucial to recognize that transformation is always driven by people, for people. Therefore, it is essential to focus on human beings — to seek to know them, understand their needs, value them, and encourage them to improve so they can serve better and make a more meaningful impact on others, ultimately reaching the entire population. 

8. Who inspires you to build a more inclusive and trustworthy public sector? 

My family inspires and nourish me for managing a demanding work routine. Other than naming one person or a particular group, I must say that I feel especially committed and inspired by the millions of Brazilians who face the barriers of inequality every day.  

In Brazil, more than half of children up to 6 years old live in low-income families — this means that millions of young Brazilians begin life in challenging conditions during the most crucial stage of their development. Among these families, many are headed by single mothers who do not give up on securing a better life for their children. Their strength and resilience remind me of the importance of a public sector that is accessible and capable of transforming realities.  

9. If you had an unlimited budget, what would your dream project be? 

When we look at the Brazilian context, we have around 90 percent of our population  connected to the internet, but only about 22 percent of Brazilians have meaningful connectivity. In general, Brazilians are used to experimenting with new technologies, and we want to promote a digital transition that leaves no one behind.   

We are implementing a program called GOV.BR Citizen Counter, aimed at supporting people with low digital literacy by helping them to use the GOV.BR account and to access digital public services. Recently we also begun a partnership with the Internet Steering Comitee of Brazil (CGI.BR) and Forest Peoples Connection Network, to support the digital inclusion of Indigenous, Quilombola, Extractivist and Riverside communities in the Brazilian Amazon. The main purpose is to disseminate the use of Gov.br and identify opportunities to evolve the platform to meet their needs.  
 

Those projects are very dear to us and an unlimited budget would definitely help us to reach every corner of our territory and every single person of our population.   

10. Outside tech, what excites you the most? 

Literature is one of the things that most delights me. I love reading good stories, talking with friends about what they’re reading, and reading analyses of literary works. I still believe that writing and storytelling are among the most incredible technologies ever invented by humanity.