Gestão de obras públicas: um estudo de caso em uma instituição federal de ensino superior

Abstract

Public works represent an important component for the performance of Public Administration, since, through them, public institutions reinforce their infrastructures for the provision of their services in the most diverse areas, such as health, security and education. Thus, it is up to Public Administration institutions to manage their works efficiently and effectively, not only because of their importance to society, but also because of their responsibility towards public money, bearing in mind that the execution of public works often involves large amounts. However, it is common, in the management of public works, problems related to: works planning; contracts signed between public institutions and companies responsible for carrying out the works, and; works budget. In addition, there are also factors that are independent of the institution's will - such as changes in government and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic - and that can contribute to the incidence or even to the potentialization of the most common obstacles. In this context, the present study has the general objective of analyzing the relationships between management changes in the federal government, the COVID-19 pandemic and budgetary, contractual and planning obstacles in the management of public works at a Federal University. To achieve this objective, a case study was carried out at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), of an applied and qualitative, exploratory and descriptive nature. UFRPE’s scenario in relation to its physical infrastructure is challenging, considering that the institution aims to expand it to better serve its university community. Data collection occurred through interviews with employees from different sectors involved in the management of the University's works and also through the collection of secondary data on the Transparency Portal and the Federal Government Purchasing Portal. The results showed that there are particularities and obstacles that harm the management of public works at UFRPE, however, similarities were found between several of the aspects and obstacles of works management and the institution's literature, which shows that the reality of the University is not uncommon in relation to other bodies and institutions. Given all this and taking into account the relevance of UFRPE to Pernambuco – with a strong presence in several regions of the state and with management's commitment to institutional governance –, it can be expected that this work will contribute to the management of public works at the University , whether helping to visualize the obstacles already experienced by the institution and/or proposing improvements to reduce the occurrence of future obstacles in its constructive management.