Several countries have successfully reduced their COVID-19 infection rate early, while others have been overwhelmed. The reasons for the differences are complex, but response efficacy has in part depended on the speed and scale of governmental intervention and how communities have received, perceived, and acted on the information provided by governments and other agencies. While there is no ‘one size fits all’ communications strategy to deliver information during a prolonged crisis, in this article, we draw on key findings from scholarship in multiple social science disciplines to highlight some fundamental characteristics of effective governmental crisis communication. We then present ten recommendations for effective communication strategies to engender maximum support and participation. We argue that an effective communication strategy is a two-way process that involves clear messages, delivered via appropriate platforms, tailored for diverse audiences, and shared by trusted people. Ultimately, the long-term success depends on developing and maintaining public trust. We outline how government policymakers can engender widespread public support and participation through increased and ongoing community engagement. We argue that a diversity of community groups must be included in engagement activities. We also highlight the implications of emerging digital technologies in communication and engagement activities.

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Data policy aims to understand how governments, industry, academia, and civil society understand data availability and use. Data policy studies are broad in scope and include theory and practice of open sources of data from traditional sources (e.g., statistics and public health government agencies); representation and interpretation of data; investigations of the social relations and impacts of open public data; and attitudes surrounding data stewardship and public data availability and use. This study’s empirical research is based on two case studies of the Australian and New Zealand Open Data programs between 2010 and 2020. Based on current scholarship, some factors affecting open data supply were confirmed, and new insights were generated. Social psychology theorising concerning identity leadership was confirmed. When leaders promoted a sense of ‘us’ and ‘who we are’, data stewards were more likely to advance a shared vision for making data available for reuse. The concepts of _collateral peers_ and _collateral peer networks_ were introduced to data policy scholarship. Collateral peer networks engage in multistakeholder governance with no apparent leader-follower relationship. Instead, peers (in function but not necessary title) collaborate across the public service, at various levels of government, and with experts in research institutions (e.g., publicly funded scientific and applied research organisations). Future areas for public interest technology, specifically data policy research, include how researchers and practitioners can prioritise data stewardship, open data communities, and multistakeholder governance, especially during prolonged and compounding crises.