LOCAL PUBLIC SERVICES IN CRISIS MODE: ADAPTING GOVERNANCE MODELS TO EXCEPTIONAL TIMES
The focus of this Policy Brief is on governance innovations, organisational responses and other developments already taking place on the ground that – irrespective of their governance model – can help inform local public services around the globe in relation to their readiness and effectiveness to respond to complex emergencies. By reviewing cases of how local public services worldwide have dealt with the COVID-19 crisis, the Policy Brief aims to extract lessons that may be useful in facing future emergencies. To unpack how public service operators navigated the competing priorities posed by the pandemic, it also relies on a more detailed analysis of the cases of welfare and social care services in Kempen (Belgium), energy, sanitation, gas and water with household waste removal and telecommunications subsidiaries in Medellín (Colombia), and water in Terrassa (Spain).