Public spending in the Brazilian Ministry of Education: an action research approach

<jats:sec> <jats:title>Purpose</jats:title> <jats:p>The innovation ecosystem makes it possible to build a network strategy that allows organizations to collaborate and evolve together, especially in public organizations in which the population’s expectation for better services is growing and resources are scarce. Thus, the theory of the innovation ecosystem is analyzed in this study to structure mechanisms for spending efficiency within the institutions of the Brazilian federal education network. This choice is justified by the need to explore the coordination of the innovation ecosystem applied in the university context.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Design/methodology/approach</jats:title> <jats:p>This study was carried out using a qualitative approach. An action research methodology was used on the Ministry of Education of Brazil (MEC), focusing on 110 institutions of the federal education network (federal universities and institutes). Action research was applied in this study because of its capacity to generate knowledge and address practical problems, specifically those concerning the efficiency of public spending in the examined educational institutions.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Findings</jats:title> <jats:p>A model called the Innovation Ecosystem for Efficiency of Public Spending in Institutions of the Brazilian Federal Network of Education was developed. The model is composed of three layers: a core layer consisting of the MEC as a supervisory body that exerts influence over institutions, a platform layer consisting of four platforms and a development and application layer consisting of actors that interact with ecosystem activities.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Originality/value</jats:title> <jats:p>As its main contribution, this study presents how public institutions, especially those linked to the area of federal education, can organize and articulate partnership designs to promote innovation and efficiency in public spending.</jats:p> </jats:sec>