This paper examines the incorporation of the deliberations of the national conferences into the policy agenda of the Brazilian federal government and suggests aspects that affect the capacity of these public spaces to influence this process. The hypothesis is that the degree of incorporation of each conference, i.e., its inclusive capacity, varies according to the nature of the public policy debated, given that each policy has its own purpose, involves a distinct type of civil society and is formulated by different public institutions. To test this proposition, the article compares the national conferences of aquaculture and fishery, of women and of racial policy. The results corroborate the assumption that conferences of distinct public policies have different inclusive capacity.
National Conferences of Public Policy; civil society participation; deliberation; inclusive capacity; policy agenda
