Politicians, policy makers and public servants have never faced a situation like this. They immediately need policies that really work. Best practices can serve as an inspiration, a starting point and a proof of concept.

Take-away library books
A Swedish library organises contactless pick-ups of books outside the library to provide reading material during the lockdowns.

A municipality’s free online home fitness service
To keep its citizens fit during quarantine, the municipality of Chiavari, in partnership with health professionals, started free online fitness classes.
Deferring businesses’ taxes and utility bills
To help businesses survive the coronavirus pandemic and giving them more flexibility, the city of Seattle is deferring businesses’ taxes and utility bills.

Facilitating knowledge sharing for local and regional governments
Live Learning Series allows local and regional governments to share their experiences, initiatives, and actions to support their communities facing the coronavirus pandemic.

Medically qualified migrants may help to tackle the coronavirus
Qualified doctors from foreign countries help Germany to overcome its shortage on medical personnel.

Participatory document for re-opening strategy
The city of Milan invites its citizens to contribute their ideas to the re-opening strategy for the city.

A coronavirus action group to provide a reliable source of information
The Essex County Council (EEC), in partnership with Facebook and local communities, set up the Essex Coronavirus Action group which aims to provide the people of Essex with a trustworthy source of information and advice.

Telecare service to overcome the digital divide
The Basque government offers a tele assistance service to overcome the digital divide in times of isolation.

Making international best practices in policy available to politicians
For both, policy makers as well as politicians, in times of crises it is imperative to have a comprehensive database of policy options at hand.

Multilingual education material
A Norwegian platform offers educational material in Norwegian as well as in the country’s main immigrant languages.

Health System Response Monitor
A new tool analyses Covid-19 response measures across European countries.
Automatically opening and closing doors in public transport
To reduce the risk of infection, passengers no longer have to touch the door openers of metros, trams, and buses.