Governance and intersectoral coordination of public policies: the Intersectoral Chamber for Food and Nutritional Security

Abstract

The trajectory of the Food and Nutrition Security (SAN) policy in Brazil expresses the construction of governance strategies to enable social participation and articulation between sectors. Noteworthy in this process are the National Conferences, the National Council for Food and Nutrition Security (CONSEA) and the Intersectoral Chamber for Food and Nutrition Security (CAISAN), made up of government ministries and secretariats. The purpose of this article is to analyze CAISAN's performance from 2012 to 2016 in the intersectoral coordination of politics in the federal government. The research was based on the literature on governance, considering two axes of analysis: structure and dynamics of the Chamber's performance; the CAISAN agenda and its relationship with CONSEA. The methodological strategies were: bibliographic review, document analysis and semi-structured interviews. It was observed that CAISAN's performance favored the intersectoral coordination of the policy, influencing governmental measures in response to demands from the Conferences and CONSEA. However, weaknesses were expressed, such as low participation of government representatives with decision-making power and limited coping with challenges in areas that express conflicts between economic and health interests. Concluded that its strengthening is essential, especially after the end of CONSEA, which favored social participation and intersectoriality in SAN policy