Innovation in Times of Crisis: How Civil Protection Organizations in Europe Coped and Adapted During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This explorative study provides insights into how civil protection organizations can learn, be innovative, and develop their capabilities toward achieving greater organizational resilience. After the enormous impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, civil protection organizations had to actively shape crisis-related learning processes, particularly concerning workflows and organizational structures, collaboration with stakeholders, preparedness, risk analysis, digitalization, and the political framework. Empirical findings collected in Europe during and between the main pandemic peaks of 2020 and 2021 were analyzed for implications for policymakers and civil protection organizations. Key findings illustrate how important it is for civil protection organizations to respond quickly and adapt flexibly in times of crisis. In interviews with civil protection experts, respondents highlight the benefits of a partner network and the need for digital capabilities and data infrastructure. Other relevant factors in dealing with a crisis were found to be self-evaluation and the ability to recover from a previous wave while preparing for and responding to the next.