The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of standardized systems of policy evaluation on government transparency and official's accountability. More specifically it discusses the impact of program evaluation and program assessment systems in the promotion of increasing levels of information transparency and the enhancement of mechanisms of accountability in the Public Sector. The exam of Saresp (Scholl Assessment System of São Paulo State) and the Monitoring and Evaluation System of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) and Aids program in the same State suggests that evaluation systems have a positive impact on transparency and accountability, but that this impact is related not only to characteristics of the policy evaluation systems - particularly to the pattern its data and results are presented to the public - but also to the participation of stakeholders in the evaluation process and in the public policy itself.
public policy evaluation; information; accountability; social control
