Policy learning and the COVID-19 crisis: A systematic review of scholarship and key lessons for research and practice

Abstract

Policy learning plays an important role during crises, where it can empower effective crisis responses or derail policy . Accordingly, a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic has created a surge in research on policy learning. In this article, and more than 3 years from the crisis’ onset, we systematically review what COVID-19 policy learning research has hitherto offered. We take stock of 45 scientific articles to provide an account of where policy learning has been researched, what methods, policy domains, and conceptual approaches were most used, and what new theoretical and conceptual advances have emerged from this growing body of research. Furthermore, we distil the key insights it offers to both scholars and practitioners. In doing so, we point to the theoretical and empirical gaps that future scholarship can address, as well as how can practitioners leverage research insights towards improving policy learning practices during similar crises in the future.

Points for practitioners

• In creeping crises such as COVID-19, policy-makers need to consider the multidimensionality and societal embeddedness of policy issues while designing policy learning processes, particularly in identifying relevant expertise.
• Creeping crises evolve over time. Hence, policy-makers need to continuously re-align the policy learning processes to match evolving crisis definitions, manifestations, and societal perceptions. This requires continuous context scanning.
• In creeping crises, policy learning has considerable time and space interactions. Thus, when designing policy learning processes, policy-makers need to proactively consider the heterogeneity of policy learning processes across various levels of the governance architecture over time. As such, holistic ‘governance’ of policy learning processes becomes essential.
• Policy-makers should strive towards minimising perceived political interventions and influences on the policy learning processes, particularly during crises to maintain transparency and public trust.