Being a Public Manager in Times of Crisis: The Art of Managing Stakeholders, Political Masters, and Collaborative Networks

Abstract

The COVID‐19 pandemic is seen as the biggest crisis since World War II. What started out as a public health issue has quickly morphed into a political, economic, and societal crisis of epic proportions. Administrative capacity is a major factor in determining whether societies will emerge from this unprecedented situation with resilience and optimism or despair and disconnectedness, and whether trust in government will increase or decrease. Autonomous and competent public managers are key producers of such administrative capacity. This essay addresses those public managers, the unsung administrative heroes leading us through times of crisis from behind the scenes. Translating the state of the art in public administration literature, with a particular emphasis on publications in this journal, into accessible practitioner recommendations, it identifies three key competencies paramount to public managers in times of crisis: managing stakeholders, political masters, and collaborative networks.

Introduction: COVID‐19 Viewpoint Symposium, Part II

“…They draw attention specifically to the relationship between democratic legitimacy and government capacity, noting perception is key when it comes to crisis response. This point meshes with van der Wal's (2020) recommendations for engaging stakeholders to build trust prior to cataclysmic events.…”

“…In his essay, van der Wal (2020) synthesizes existing literature to provide three critical competencies for public managers handling the crisis—stakeholder engagement and communication, political astuteness, and collaborative capacity. He offers practical suggestions, such as maintain network control and building social media skills, which are best practices in administrative structures and even more valuable in a crisis.…”

Impact of COVID 19 on the provision of services by public administration

“…Administrative capacity is a decisive factor in deciding whether these circumstances give rise to unprecedented situations of resilience and optimism or despair, and it will then be clear whether confidence in the government will increase or decrease. [18] The WHO has published three reports to the UN General Assembly that a pandemic must motivate us to redouble our efforts to achieve the goals of sustainable development. Fair access to diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines must be ensured.…”

“…These countries scored highest in all four benchmarks at the highest level, closely followed by Denmark (84%), Lithuania (83%) and Finland (83%). [18] The Public Health Office of the Slovak Republic has created a special page COVID-19, where citizens can find all important information about this disease, current statistics, disease development, call centres of regional public health offices in the Slovak Republic, leaflets, information materials and various other useful information. Everything is accessible on the website www.uvzsr.sk.…”

Governance: Struggle and Strife—Or Synergy and Success—In the Trans‐COVID Era

“…As I reflect on the content of PAR and other public administration journals over the past few years, it is clear that the emphasis is on trans‐organizational cooperation, and involvement of stakeholders and citizens in government has shown tremendous potential. We have published numerous articles that explore collaboration (Douglas and Ansell 2021; Huang 2020; Lindsay et al 2021; Min, Lee, and Yang 2020; Mosley and Jarpe 2019; Stadtler and Karakulak 2020; Van der Wal 2020), coproduction (Cheng 2019; Gazley, LaFontant, and Cheng 2020; Steen and Brandsen 2020; Voorberg et al 2018 and Xu and Tang 2020), partnership (Grizzle, Goodin, and Robinson 2020; Jung, Malatesta, and LaLonde 2018; Tan and Zhao 2019), participation (Ingrams and Schachter 2019; Migchelbrink and Van de Walle 2020; Moon 2020; Muthomi and Thurmaier 2021; Rutherford, McDonnell and Hogg 2021; van den Berg et al 2020), and other approaches to solving problems outside the structural framework of government. Electronic media can motivate and mobilize citizens around ideas; it can create the focus needed for policy entrepreneurs to intervene.…”