| Policy Brief | Governance in the age of complexity: building resilience to COVID-19 and future pandemics

This policy brief aims to support policy-makers with a holistic and resilience-based mindset towards the COVID-19 pandemic by:

1. Applying a complexity lens to understand its drivers, nature, and impact,
2. Recommending 70 actions to build resilient societies to pandemics, and
3. Proposing 5 principles to govern complex systemic crises.

Building resilience to prevent, react to, and recover from systemic shocks needs to become a core element of how societies are governed. This requires an integrated approach between health, social, economic, environmental, and institutional systems.The brief has been developed by a team of researchers coming from both the natural and social sciences. Reviewed by a group of policy actors, the brief aims to foster a dialogue between academic institutions and policymakers.

Download the policy brief via this link (pdf).

Watch the recording of the launch event

https://youtu.be/Zf65ad_iGtQ

Dissemination

• Submission to European Commission's proposal for the creation of a Health Emergency Response Agency (HERA), see here
• Launch event on the 25th of March 2021, see here
• Press release by the University of Geneva, see here
• Consultative workshop with participation from scientific experts and International Geneva representatives at the Fondation Brocher (29 September 2020)

Authors

• Didier Wernli, lead author, Geneva Transformative Governance Lab, University of Geneva
• Mia Clausin, Geneva Transformative Governance Lab, University of Geneva
• Nino Antulov-Fantulin, Computational Social Science, ETH Zurich
• John Berezowski, Vetsuisse Faculty, Veterinary Public Health Institute, University of Bern
• Nikola Biller-Andorno, Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine, University of Zurich
• Karl Blanchet, Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva and Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
• Lucas Böttcher, Computational Medicine, UCLA, United States of America
• Claudine Burton-Jeangros, Department of Sociology, Geneva School of Social Sciences, University of Geneva
• Gérard Escher, Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA); Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne
• Antoine Flahault, Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva
• Keiji Fukuda, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong
• Dirk Helbing, Computational Social Science, ETH Zurich
• Philip D. Jaffé, Interfaculty Center for Children’s Rights Studies, University of Geneva
• Peter Jørgensen, Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden; Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University
• Yuliya Kaspiarovich, Geneva Transformative Governance Lab, University of Geneva
• Jaya Krishnakumar, Geneva School of Economics and Management, University of Geneva
• Roderick Lawrence, Geneva School of Social Sciences, University of Geneva
• Kelley Lee, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby
• Anaïs Léger, Geneva Transformative Governance Lab, University of Geneva
• Nicolas Levrat, Global Studies Institute, University of Geneva
• Romain Martischang, Infection Control Programme, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine
• Chantal Morel, Geneva Transformative Governance Lab, University of Geneva
• Didier Pittet, Infection Control Programme, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine
• Maxime Stauffer, Geneva Science-Policy Interface, University of Geneva
• Fabrizio Tediosi, Household Economics & Health Systems Research Unit, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute
• Flore Vanackere, Geneva Transformative Governance Lab, University of Geneva
• Jean-Dominique Vassalli, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland; International Institute for the Rights of the Child
• Gaélane Wolff, Global Studies Institute, University of Geneva
• Oran Young, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California at Santa Barbara

Reviewers

• Michael Roberts, Head Aid for Trade Unit, World Trade Organization
• Aku Kwamie, Technical Officer, Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, World Health Organization
• Dheepa Rajan, Health Systems Adviser, World Health Organization
• Nicolas Seidler, Executive Director, Geneva Science-Policy Interface