#GovAfterShock | Building back better, together: reaffirming the role of citizen-centred governance
Channel: OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation
Date: 2020-11-20

Government efforts to respond to COVID-19 placed their relations with the public in the spotlight. Ensuring compliance with public health measures became essential to their success, just as perceptions of government competence, legitimacy and credibility influenced adherence to the new rules. While top-down approaches to decision-making were initially justified by the urgency of the response, they were criticised for being opaque and inefficient in the long run, and were accompanied by an ever stronger demand for more transparent and inclusive policy-making and tailored service design and delivery. The resulting discussions on the future of our democracies and a new social contract have focused on how governments can better address societal needs, strengthen their relations with citizens, and better take into account the impact of policies on individual lives. This panel will explore key lessons learned from the crisis on the need for more collaborative, citizen-centred governance, as well as innovative avenues for public engagement.

This session is run by the OECD Observatory of Civic Space.

Featuring:
Mouna Ben Garga
María del Pilar Garrido Gonzalo
Gary Gillespie
Katju Holkeri
Jane Suiter