City councils have not yet benefited as much from modern information systems as the other administrations. In the Cuparla project, members of the Stuttgart city councils were each equipped with a networked Notebook and a special information system – the Cuparla software was developed. This paper describes the software design , usage experiences and the organizational implementation process. The...

The term 'Workers' Councils' can perhaps stand as a catchall title for an unpremeditated, quasi-spontaneous, 'groundup' organisational form reproduced over many periods and across many countries by groups of workers previously unaware of such a structure or of its historical precedents. Its highest form the Soviet, its 'lowest' the simple workplace representatives' committee, this formation rec...

BACKGROUND Brazil created Health Councils to bring together civil society groups, heath professionals, and government officials in the discussion of health policies and health system resource allocation. However, several studies have concluded that Health Councils are not very influential on healthcare policy. This study probes this issue further by providing a descriptive account of some of th...

This article addresses the collective actions of participation in the municipal health councils. The underlying research sought to establish the performance of the councilors in the municipal health councils in the Metropolitan Region of Belém in the State of Pará. A survey of documents for the 2005-2010 period, structured interviews and observations with counselors in sessions of meetings of t...

The essay reflects upon the deliberative democracy and upon the limits and possibilities of the municipal health councils to become institutions that practice and settle it. It is shown that such councils face a process of institutional delegitimization that can subtract their importance in the decision-making process, a risk enhanced by the political crisis that the country is experiencing. Fo...