Os processos do setor de projetos em uma universidade federal: caracterização, análises, inferências

Abstract

This research’s main objective is to characterize and analyze the current context of the built environment’s production and management process in a Brazilian public university, focusing on its Design Department. A gap in the specialized literature was found on this subject; as such, the research’s final goal is to publish the results to help Brazilian public universities directly and support future studies in similar institutions, using the replication logic in case studies, eventually generating appliable benchmarks. The research is exploratory-descriptive, based upon empiric data obtained in a single case study performed at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). Due to its intention to support similar studies, the data collection was based upon data obtainable through the Right to Information Law. All official documents related to design and building received or issued by the Design Department from 2014 to 2017 about the institution’s main campus were analyzed. After categorizing, coding, and charting the primary data, a data bank was used to support quantitative analyses, helping to characterize the process in three subjects: the physical and administrative structures, the management of the design portfolio, and the official communications system. Furthermore, some documents were used to illustrate the issues presented and were qualitatively analyzed to help support the inferences made. The results show that the bureaucratic administrative structure of the Design Department directly influences its process, reducing its efficiency and jeopardizing the principle of publicity in its outcomes. It was also verified that there is a need to increase the degree of convergence of the institution’s policies, the design practice, and the academic community demands in search of collective efforts for greater efficiency in applying public resources.