Governments and societies continue to face the unforeseen and unprecedented challenges of responding to and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The experiences of the last 18 months have pointed to the importance of well-managed actions at the local, national and cross-border levels. Many of these steps address issues that are now well-documented, including medical support for testing, contact tracing and vaccine management; supply chain challenges around vaccine production and distribution; impacts on local job markets; and the importance of addressing equity in delivering needed social services.

In this report, authors Barrett, Greene, and Kettl—renowned experts on governance at all levels—step back to understand how governments have operated in developing strategies and programs to address these global and societal challenges. Based on extensive research and interviews, the authors develop twelve principles, each accompanied by a recommended set of actions, for government to follow in addressing future crises. Importantly, these principles and actions can enable government officials to help their constituencies advance through the current stages of COVID response and recovery, and to emerge stronger and more resilient.