Study title

The project studied governance capacity and governance legitimacy for societal security and crisis management. The overall research question was: What makes a well performing governmental crisis management system? A well performing administrative structure needs both organizational capacity and legitimacy. The project examined the organization and coordination of government apparatuses; and the public perceptions and attitudes toward societal security, safety and resilience. The trade-off between the capacity for resilience and for emergency preparedness and between societal security and individual rights are central. There is a need of unpacking the field of societal security and crisis management into different types of management situations and crises. There are significant variations across types of crises, for example between natural disasters and terrorism. What is considered exemplary and acceptable capacity and performance may vary. We explored why some cases are considered successful, while others are not, across different countries and cases. The two sets of questions are examined through two interrelated research modules. Module 1 analyzes governance capacity, looking at the structure and performance of government authorities and instruments within the field. A main assumption is that organization and use of different governance tools will affect performance. Module 2 considers governance legitimacy. It analyzes trust in government arrangements for crisis management and societal security, and public assessment of the governments' performance. Being based on collaboration within a international academic research network the project has a strong focus on internationalization and a comparative design, and includes data from five European countries: Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. For further information about "Organizing for Societal Security and Crisis Management: Building Governance Capacity and Legitimacy (GOVCAP),...