Skip to content
TO THE INNOVATION IN POLITICS INSTITUTE
  • Linkedin
  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Mail
  • Search
Coping with the crisis
The Innovation in Politics Institute
  • INTRODUCTION
  • INSIGHTS
  • SEARCH PROJECTS
  • Our Favourites
  • SUBMIT PROJECT
  • Work
  • Culture
  • Learning
  • Wellbeing
  • COMMUNITY
  • Government
  • Linkedin
  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Mail
  • Search
[contact-form-7 id="9663" title="Mailinglist Registration"]
The Innovation in Politics Institute
TO THE INNOVATION IN POLITICS INSTITUTE
insights
April 29, 20204:40 pmMay 25, 2020

Four insights about politics from the coronavirus crisis

1.  Be able to express urgent needs

Many politicians, civil servants and political decision-makers have been overwhelmed by the volume and complexity of the (new) tasks they have faced and the decisions that they have had to make to manage this crisis. Rather than focusing on the imperfections of government, decision-makers should embrace the challenge and understand that they can energise their communities and stakeholders in times of turmoil. To do this, they need to be able to articulate their needs so that help can create value immediately. This way, new and innovative solutions are created quickly, and democracy as a whole is strengthened. Many administrations have shown that they can follow this principle, for instance by organising large scale hackathons or calling for help with providing government services.

2.  Support communities in their efforts to self-organise

What the coronavirus crisis has clearly shown is that communities are able to organise themselves very quickly. We have seen people programming apps in order to establish regional support systems, organisations taking care of the elderly, institutions providing free rooms for the most vulnerable members of society, and an increase in local business platforms. Meanwhile, governments have created crowdsourcing platforms and launched public volunteer programmes. The crisis has proven that citizens are willing and able to take action themselves and that governments should focus on providing professional support to such individuals and/or groups who take the initiative.

3.  Provide information on measures to all citizens

Although governments have published their measures on websites and in the media, it is imperative to understand that different target groups need to be reached using different channels and different content. This has forced decision-makers to develop innovative formats and methods. We have seen many different approaches, ranging from media conferences for children to special messaging services aimed at migrant groups, as well as governments issuing calls to develop formats to reach all of the different audiences.

4.  Bring about innovations in democracy

Digitalisation should be top of policymakers’ agendas when it comes to developing democracy. We have seen political institutions providing virtual tours, as well as city councils going digital. But there still seems to be much more potential for enhanced digitalisation of services provided by parliaments, councils and other bodies. Politicians and decision-makers need to realise that in order to shape the societies of the future, they have to develop plans to revitalise democracy. Digital council meetings may not be the ultimate goal, but they are a good start.

We are continuing to research, review and upload initiatives, so our platform will carry on growing. If you would like to contribute, please send us details of innovative measures you know about (follow this link).


Continue reading

4 THINGS POLITICIANS NEED TO CONSIDER FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF DEMOCRACY

It is widely agreed that digitalisation efforts should be on top of decision-makers’ agendas. To act as trusted political leaders in a democracy in the digital age, politicians and political staff at all levels need to be open to technology and to adapt to  new developments.

4 insights we have gained on the upcoming challenges of governments

What are the most pressing challenges of governments in the second half of 2020?
©2025 The Innovation in Politics Institute
Footer navigation
  • Imprint / Legal
  • Privacy Policy

Full-Text Search across all project entries:

Begin typing your search above and press return to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}