Understanding public service provision using digital technologies during COVID-19 lockdowns in New Zealand through a complexity theory lens

Abstract

Complexity theory is used to explore an exemplar of how digital government services evolved under conditions of uncertainty and rapid change created by COVID-19 in 2020. Based on a qualitative, constructivist research design, informed by interviews with key senior public servants and document analysis, the complexity lens helps us to understand how provisions of digital public services were quickly adapted and evolved to meet new and emerging needs experienced because of the pandemic. Means for making collective sense of the unknown from which to plan first steps, learning from doing, agility, co-construction and adaptive leadership are in evidence.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social sphere and lessons for crisis management: a literature review

“…They also suggest rethinking and creating new structures in the relationship between the three major dimensions of welfare provision triangles, namely state, market, and society (Mok et al 2021 ). To this end, some studies suggest digitizing the service provision process (Ingaldi and Klimecka-Tatar 2022 ; Lips & Eppel 2022 ). As a case in point, it has been reported that due to the lack of an efficient digital social welfare system, public health measures may fail to reduce the consequences of the pandemic (Ebuenyi 2020 ).…”

International Education After the Covid Years: Recovery, Rebuilding, Reimagining - Towards a New Chinese Internationalism

“…In a limited short term way it had positive impacts on environmental sustainability. In other ways it pushed governments, businesses and education institutions over the digital technology tipping point, speeding up the adoption of digital technologies, encouraging experiment and innovation, and developing fall-back digital systems at national levels that seem likely to become a permanent part of emergency and resilience infrastructure.5 In New Zealand digital public services received priority with an all of government and collaboration approach with Australia to negotiate remote working, providing effective ict communication with regions and communities, as well as the development of contact tracing technology (Lips & Eppel, 2021). The Ministry of Education embarked on a creative solution including: a home schooling package, which included learning resources, laptops and modems where needed, delivered directly to homes to support parents in helping children learn, along with the creation of two television channels (English medium and Māori medium), a radio channel (mainly for Pasifika students) and a hardcopy workstream, thus relieving teachers of some of the load associated with learning how to teach remotely for the first time … (p. 12).…”

“…We mention these aspects because they are emblematic and illustrative of the government learnings and strengthening public infrastructures that occurred across the globe. Lips and Eppel (2021) China's educational response to covid-19 focused on building a governance system under the centralized and unified leadership of the Communist Party of China' and building relationships between families and schools while transforming the education paradigm so as to pay greater heed to remote and poor areas and disadvantaged student groups (Xue, et al, 2021). Chinese universities made contributions to emergency risk management -'alumni resource collection, medical rescue and emergency management, mental health maintenance, control of staff mobility, and innovation in online education models' (Chuanyi Wang et al, 2020).…”

Sport and Recreation Undergraduate Students’ Perspectives on Disruption of Lifestyle, Active Lives, Learning, and Livelihood during Pandemic Times

“…Typically, highly motivated students are relatively unaffected by online learning, as they do not require supervision for their studies, while students who face learning difficulties struggle more in the digital classroom, as they often require more support [24]. Another challenge with online learning, particularly for students from low-income households, is the accessibility and affordability of internet/data packages and digital devices [11,25]. Lastly, increased screen time exposes students to potential exploitation and cyberbullying [10].…”

“…In 2020, in response to the coronavirus (delta) pandemic, New Zealand's Ministry of Health [4] imposed a four-level restrictions mandate, with a full lockdown at level four (25 March-27 April), followed by lesser restrictions at level three, including isolation periods and vaccination mandates (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30). All citizens were affected by approximately 10 weeks of lockdown restrictions.…”