Rafael Leite

Affiliate Researcher in the Public Service Reform Programme

Rafael Leite is a public administration expert currently holding a German Chancellor Fellowship from the Humboldt Foundation. As part of this fellowship, he is a visiting researcher at the German Research Institute for Public Administration (FÖV) in Speyer, where he is working on a project about senior civil service reform in Germany.

In addition to this, Rafael is a research fellow at both the Instituto Millenium in Brazil and the New South Institute in South Africa. He has a degree in Public Administration from FGV/EAESP and has worked with several prominent organizations, including the Lemann Foundation, Vetor Brasil, Comunitas, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Rafael’s career has also taken him to the Government of Chile and the Municipality of São Paulo. His research mainly focuses on State Modernization and Reform.

Through his work, Rafael contributes valuable insights into the development of effective public administration systems and the challenges of reform in both developed and developing countries, aligning with the NSI’s mission of promoting inclusive and sustainable governance.

Publications

Scholarly Articles

1. Teixeira, M. A. C., Fernandes, G. A. A. and Leite, R. (2016) ‘When striving more and not spending more makes all the difference: The case of public health in municipalities of the state of São Paulo’, Enfoque: Reflexão Contábil, 8(1). doi: 10.4025/enfoque.v36i1.32467. (In Portuguese).

Book Chapters

1. Milanesi, A., Ramos, C. and Leite, R. (2025) ‘Civil Service Reform in Latin America: Trends and Challenges’, in Romero-Tarín, A. and Cardozo, N.D. (eds.) Public Policy and Research in Latin America. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 303–330.
2. Leite, R. and Cerqueira, M. (2023) ‘Institutional erosion in Brazil: Mechanisms for safeguarding merit-based systems at Funai, Ibama and Incra’, in Barros, V. C. da S. and Lotta, G. S. (eds) República em notas. Cobogó Publishing. Available at: https://www.cobogo.com.br/produto/republica-em-notas-734 (In Portuguese).
3. Leite, R. and Cerqueira, M. (2023) ‘Recommendations for Strengthening the Civil Service Merit System’, in Barros, V. C. da S. and Lotta, G. S. (eds) República em notas. Cobogó Publishing. Available at: https://www.cobogo.com.br/produto/republica-em-notas-734 (In Portuguese).
4. Leite, R. (2022) ‘Leaders that Transform Program: An Experimental Contribution by ENAP to the Professionalization of Senior Public Management in Brazil’, in Santos, B. (ed.) Paths of innovation in the public sector, pp. 63–111. ENAP. Available at: https://repositorio.enap.gov.br/bitstream/1/7420/1/caminhos_da_inovacao_no_setor_publico.pdf (In Portuguese).

Policy Documents

1. Leite, R. O. and Chipkin, I. (2024) Beyond political discretion: Reforming South Africa’s senior civil service (NSI White Paper). New South Institute.
2. Leite, R. O. and Chipkin, I. (2024) Towards a merit-based senior civil service: Strategies for reform in South Africa (NSI Policy Brief). New South Institute.
3. Chipkin, I. and Leite, R. (2023) The five Cs of the contemporary crisis of government and how to overcome them (NSI Working Paper). New South Institute.
4. Chipkin, I., Le Roux, M. and Leite, R. (2022) Personalising and De-Personalising Power: The Appointment of Executive Officers in Key State Institutions (Policy Brief). Johannesburg: New South Institute (NSI).
5. Leite, R. and Chipkin, I. (2021) The Paradox of Reform: A response to the Ramaphosa government’s proposal for professionalising the public service (GAPP Working Paper 1(5)).
6. Lafuente, M., Leite, R., Porrúa, M. and Valenti, P. (2021) Digital transformation of Brazilian governments: Trends in digital transformation in state governments and the Federal District of Brazil (Working Paper). Inter-American Development Bank. doi: 10.18235/0003009. (In Portuguese).
7. Lafuente, M., Leite, R., Porrúa, M. and Valenti, P. (2021) Digital transformation of Brazilian governments: Citizen satisfaction with digital public services in the states and the Federal District (Working Paper). Inter-American Development Bank. doi: 10.18235/0003088. (In Portuguese).
8. Lafuente, M., Leite, R., Porrúa, M. and Valenti, P. (2021) Digital transformation of Brazilian governments: Citizen satisfaction with digital public services (Working Paper). Inter-American Development Bank. doi: 10.18235/0003058. (In Portuguese).

Additional Works

1. Franzese, C., Leite, R. O. and Cerqueira de Oliveira, M. (forthcoming, 2024) ‘O dirigente público como categoria analítica: uma mesma posição, diferentes abordagens’, in International Congress of CLAD on the Reform of the State and Public Administration (XXIX). Brasília, Brazil. (In Portuguese).
2. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) (2024) Taking action against corruption: A step-by-step guide by youth for youth. Edited by J. Morgan.
3. Leite, R. (2024) Beyond screen time: A review of scientific literature and public policy proposals on the well-being of children and adolescents on social media. Conselho Digital (Public Policy Note 01). Brasília. (In Portuguese).
4. Cerqueira, M. and Leite, R. (2023) ‘Motivation and innovation dynamics in Brazilian subnational governments’, in International Congress of CLAD on the Reform of the State and Public Administration (XXVIII). La Habana, Cuba.
5. Leite, R. and Cerqueira, M. (2023) Recommendations for Strengthening the Civil Service Merit System (Working paper). República.org.
6. Leite, R. and Cerqueira, M. (2023) Merit systems in Brazil and around the world (Working paper). República.org.
7. Leite, R. and Cerqueira, M. (2023) Institutional erosion in Brazil: Mechanisms for safeguarding merit-based systems at Funai, Ibama and Incra (Working paper). República.org.
8. Leite, R. and Jellema-Butler, J. (eds) (2022) Architecture of Government: Conference Proceedings. Johannesburg: Government and Public Policy (GAPP).
9. Leite, R. (2021) ‘No return to normal: Civil service reform trends in Latin America in times of COVID-19’, in International Congress of CLAD on the Reform of the State and Public Administration (XXVI). (In Portuguese).
10. Leite, R. (2020) Administration of public sector career paths in the United Kingdom and Portugal: Historical reform and hybrid experiences (Working paper). Movimento Pessoas a Frente. (In Portuguese).
11. Leite, R. (2020) A roadmap for public service changes? A review of international civil service reform experiences (Working paper). Movimento Pessoas à Frente. (In Portuguese).
12. Leite, R. (2020) Governance of central people management units: Comparative analysis of national and international experiences (Working paper). Movimento Pessoas a Frente. (In Portuguese).
13. Leite, R. (2020) Innovative mechanisms for the selection of public professionals: Review of national and international experiences (Working paper). Movimento Pessoas a Frente. (In Portuguese).
14. Leite, R. (2020) Non-conventional models of personnel employment in the public sector: A review of national and international experiences (Working paper). Movimento Pessoas a Frente. (In Portuguese).
15. Leite, R. (2020) Classification of public employment systems: Career-based models, position-based models, and hybrid experiences (Working paper). Movimento Pessoas a Frente. (In Portuguese).
16. Leite, R., Lima, L. B. and Camargo, M. A. S. (2019) ‘The management of young talent as a human resources innovation laboratory in governments: the case of the Public Management Trainee Program’, in International Congress of CLAD on the Reform of the State and Public Administration (XXIV). Buenos Aires, Argentina. (In Portuguese).
17. Rojas Wettig, M. and Leite, R. (2016) ‘Public function challenges in the framework of work with the OECD: Chilean experience’, in International Congress of CLAD on the Reform of the State and Public Administration (XXI). Santiago, Chile. (In Spanish).
18. Rojas Wettig, M., Belmar, F. and Leite, R. (2016) ‘The state of the art of people information management systems in public administration in Chile: Diagnosis and main gaps’, in International Congress of CLAD on the Reform of the State and Public Administration (XXI). Santiago, Chile. (In Spanish).

Editorials

1. Leite, R. (2023, 6 October) ‘The challenges of a centralized civil service examination’, Instituto Millennium. (In Portuguese).
2. Leite, R. (2023, 19 September) ‘Rethinking the role of local governments in Brazil’, Instituto Millennium. (In Portuguese).
3. Leite, R. (2023, 25 August) ‘Merit and political trust in the appointment of regulatory agencies boards’, Instituto Millennium. (In Portuguese).
4. Leite, R. (2023, 3 August) ‘Hidden State: The challenge of determining the number of public servants’, Instituto Millennium. (In Portuguese).
5. Leite, R. (2023, 20 July) ‘Education for productivity: Lessons from California and France for Brazil’, Instituto Millennium. (In Portuguese).
6. Leite, R. (2023, 4 July) ‘Learning from global experiences: transforming public administration through senior civil service reforms’, Global Government Forum.
7. Leite, R. (2023, 30 June) ‘Facing demographic decline: The urgency of better migration policies in Brazil’, Instituto Millennium. (In Portuguese).
8. Leite, R. and Chipkin, I. (2023, 12 April) ‘Political influence or merit-based appointments? How South Africa can resolve the tension over top public service jobs’, Global Government Forum.
9. Chipkin, I. and Leite, R. (2023, 26 March) ‘Can public administration be professionalised? An ingenious plan, put on ice, needs to be renewed’, Sunday Times.
10. Ribeiro, A. and Leite, R. (2023, 19 February) ‘2022 Census, a sunk cost?’, O Estado de São Paulo. (In Portuguese).
11. Leite, R. and Chipkin, I. (2023, 4 January) ‘Building blocks: lessons from the global south on reforming the architecture of government’, Global Government Forum.
12. Toyota, J. and Leite, R. (2022, 22 December) ‘State-Owned Enterprises Accountability Act: Why Change?’, Brazil Journal. (In Portuguese).
13. Gaetani, F., Leite, R. and Amaral, T. (2022, 27 October) ‘The construction of a Brazilian-style secularism’, Poder 360. (In Portuguese).
14. Chipkin, I. and Leite, R. (2022, 25 October) ‘After state capture: How to reform the South African state’, PoliticsWeb.
15. Chipkin, I. and Leite, R. (2021, 7 November) ‘The ANC years: Democracy suffers when there’s a disconnect between the head and the body’, Daily Maverick.