Covid-19 and Metagovernance
AUG 2021 – In a column in the PA Times of the American Society for Public Administration, Mauricio Covarrubias concludes that national leadership and coordinated action will remain critical and require metagovernance. “Challenges such as COVID-19 make it necessary to focus attention on a meta-level governance in which governments must demonstrate the ability to join together the multiplicity of organizations and interests to form a coherent policy fabric. (See: X. Wu, M. Ramesh & M. Howlett’s 2015 work, “Policy capacity: A conceptual framework for understanding policy competences and capabilities.” Similarly, Louis Meuleman, Vice Chairman of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA), in his book Metagovernance for Sustainability: A Framework for Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, argues that complex political challenges require meta-governance based on systems thinking, a comprehensive approach (taking into account all relevant aspects) and also a holistic view. In times where interdependence and global challenges are constantly increasing, the political capacity of central governments will be related to the ability to coordinate a unified national response between different level
