Fulbright Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
Marco Konopacki is a political scientist with a background in technology management, specializing in public policies for digital transformation and strategies to combat disinformation. Currently, he collaborates with the Supreme Federal Court’s (STF) Program to Combat Disinformation and is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Brasília (UnB) in the research line of Power and Communicational Processes.
He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and a Master’s degree in the same field from the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR). His career includes leading digital transformation projects in various public institutions. He has served as Director of Digital Governance and Innovation at the Public Defender’s Office of the State of Rio de Janeiro, as Deputy for Management Modernization in Niterói, and as advisor at the Ministry of Justice, where he led the public participation platform for the regulation of the Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet (Marco Civil da Internet).
Between 2016 and 2019, he coordinated the Democracy and Technology program at the Institute for Technology and Society of Rio de Janeiro (ITS Rio), where he developed applied research and strategies to combat disinformation in the context of Brazilian elections. His international experience includes a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship in the United States and an internship in the office of the Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives (Representative Steny Hoyer), where he contributed to the development of the House’s digital transformation plan on COVID-19 consequences.
(Portuguese)
Marco Konopacki é um cientista político com formação em gestão de tecnologia, especializado em políticas públicas para transformação digital e em estratégias de combate à desinformação. Atualmente, ele colabora com o Programa de Combate à Desinformação do Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) e realiza um estágio pós-doutoral na Universidade Nacional de Brasília (UnB), na linha de pesquisa de Poder e Processos Comunicacionais.
Doutor em Ciência Política pela Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) e Mestre na mesma área pela Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), sua carreira inclui a liderança de projetos de transformação digital em diversas instituições públicas. Foi Diretor de Governança Digital e Inovação na Defensoria Pública do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Subsecretário Adjunto de Modernização da Gestão em Niterói, e assessor no Ministério da Justiça, onde liderou a plataforma de participação para a regulamentação do Marco Civil da Internet.
Entre 2016 e 2019, coordenou a área de Democracia e Tecnologia no Instituto de Tecnologia e Sociedade do Rio de Janeiro (ITS Rio), onde desenvolveu pesquisas aplicadas e estratégias de combate à desinformação no contexto eleitoral brasileiro. Sua experiência internacional inclui uma bolsa Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship nos Estados Unidos e um estágio no escritório do líder da maioria na Câmara de Deputados daquele país, onde participou da elaboração do plano de transformação digital da casa para o enfrentamento das consequências da pandemia de COVID-19.
Expertise
- Collaborative governance
- Online collaborative law and policymaking
- e-Government
Presentation Topics
- Participatory institutions in Brazil
- Digital transformation, civic-tech and new governance paradigms
- ICT’s impact on democracies
Interest Areas
- Collaborative governance processes and theory
- Technology (high and low tech) applied to collaborative law and policymaking
- Public digital services
Experience
Disinformation Analyst
Supreme Court
Dates Employed Ago 2024 – Sep 2025
Location Brasília, DF, Brazil
Digital Literacy Program Coordinator
Laboratório de Cultura Digital (UFPR, UNB, MinC)
Dates Employed Jan 2024 – Sep 2025
Location Curitiba, PR, Brazil
Director of Digital Governance and Innovation
General Public Defense of Rio de Janeiro
Dates Employed Apr 2023 – Apr 2024
Location Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Chief Digital Officer
Niteroi City Hall (Budget & Planning Portfolio)
Dates Employed Mar 2022 – Mar 2023
Location Niterói, RJ, Brazil
Director of Paperless Office Transition
Niteroi City Hall (Budget & Planning Portfolio)
Dates Employed Aug 2021 – Feb 2022
Location Niterói, RJ, Brazil
Senior Policy Advisor
Niteroi City Hall (Education Portfolio)
Dates Employed Feb 2021 – Jul 2021
Location Niterói, RJ, Brazil
Senior internship
The United States House of Representatives
Dates Employed Apr 2020 – Jul 2021
Location Washington, DC, USA
Research Fellowship
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Syracuse University)
Dates Employed Aug 2019 – Apr 2020
Location Syracuse, NY, USA
Program Manager
Instituto de Tecnologia e Sociedade (ITS Rio)
Dates Employed Apr 2016 – Jul 2019
Location Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Research Fellowship
The Governance Lab
Dates Employed Aug 2018 – Feb 2019
Location New York City, NY, USA
Senior Consultant
PNUD Brasil (United Nations)
Dates Employed Aug 2016 – Apr 2017
Location Brasília, DF, Brazil
Advisor
Ministry of Justice of Brazil
Dates Employed Sep 2014 – Apr 2016
Location Brasília, DF, Brazil
Entrepreneur
Ethymos Civic Technologies
Dates Employed 2006 – 2019
Location Curitiba, PR, Brazil
Founder and Director
Soylocoporti – Pela Integração Latino-Americana
Dates Employed 2005 – 2014
Located in various cities of Latin-America
Education
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Ph.D. in Political Science
Field of Study: Democracy Innovations and Participatory Public Administration
Dissertation: Collective Intelligence and Democracy – A model to analyze crowdlaw in participatory process
Dates attended 2016-2021
Syracuse University
Certificate of Advanced Study in E-Government Management and Leadership
Dates attended 2019-2020
Universidade Federal do Paraná
M.Sc. in Political Science
Field of Study: International Organizations
Thesis: Organizational and political aspects of counter-hegemonic globalization – a world social forum case study
Dates attended 2010 – 2012
Universidade Federal do Paraná
Bachelor of Business Administration – BBA
Dates attended 2001 – 2005
Languages
- English
- Spanish
- Portuguese (Native)