Welcome to the OECD dataset on the role of centres of government (CoG) in the response to COVID-19, which contains the results of the 2021 OECD Survey on Building a Resilient Response: the role of Centre of Government in the management of the COVID-19 crisis and future recovery efforts. The database provides government representatives, academics and civil society with a first preliminary overview of OECD countries’ responses and management of the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery priorities.
This dataset is made available free of charge. However, data is protected by copyright and we kindly request that you cite the OECD as the source when using this data (OECD Survey on Building a Resilient Response: the role of Centre of Government in the management of the COVID-19 crisis and future recovery efforts, 2021). To help us better track use of this database, we would appreciate receiving electronic copies of any papers that cite the database, to be sent to: Johannes Klein.
The COVID-19 crisis is highlighting governments’ need to strengthen their resilience to crises. Centres of government have a significant role to play in steering the response to the crisis and in finding innovative ways to address some of the greatest challenges. The pandemic has uncovered gaps in addressing policy interlinkages and coherence as well as government policy co-ordination, in strategic planning, in risk management and in using evidence. It has also highlighted, however, that governments have found innovative ways to respond and in some cases enabled the public sector to be agile and responsive in ways that were unimaginable before the crisis. Building longer-term resilience will mean understanding how governments have responded and the potential implications for the recovery from this crisis, as well as for future crises.
The OECD is tracking these implications by collecting and analysing information on the role of the centre of government (referred to for convenience as the “centre of government") in strengthening the resilience of governments faced with crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This short questionnaire allows for a preliminary analysis of countries’ responses and management of the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery priorities. It is used to support the review of the public governance implications of the crisis which were included in the 2021 edition of the Government at a Glance.
The 2021 Survey was conducted by the Governance Reviews and Partnerships Division of the OECD Directorate for Public Governance. The content of the dataset was collected using an online questionnaire and a glossary was also provided. This questionnaire is focused on two critical areas of the response to the COVID-19 crisis:
The 2021 dataset provides information on the following topics:
The 2021 dataset comprises 26 OECD Member Countries plus Brazil and Romania. Preliminary results were presented at the 2021 Meeting of the Network of Senior Officials from Centres of Government, 1-2 December 2021 and were used in the 2021 edition of the Government at a Glance.
The OECD has cleaned the data and has conducted extensive quality control of the responses in order to ensure consistency and reliability. In case of remarks or questions related to the answers in the database, please contact: Johannes Klein.
• 2021 OECD Survey on Building a Resilient Response: the role of Centre of Government in the management of the COVID-19 crisis and future recovery efforts, questionnaire
• OECD (2018), Centre Stage: The organisation and functions of the centre of government in OECD countries