Collective learning and COVID‐19 mitigation in Ghana

Abstract

COVID‐19 has created significant uncertainty and disruption among governments and people across the globe. Policy studies present various theoretical frameworks that allow scholars and practitioners to make sense of these developments in a structured and systematic fashion. In this paper, we combined the collective learning framework with documentary data and process tracing analysis to describe, first, the features of the COVID‐19 collective learning setting in Ghana. Next, we explored the linkages among learning processes, learning products, and COVID‐19 mitigation. We found that diverse policy actors operated at distinct levels of government and performed different functions in managing the pandemic. Furthermore, we confirmed all three phases of learning (acquisition, translation, and dissemination) in Ghana's context. Lastly, policies, such as public gathering management, mandatory mask‐wearing, partial lockdown, and fiscal and tax reliefs enabled the government to mitigate the pandemic's impact on people. We conclude by highlighting the implications of these findings for policy learning scholarship.

Contagious COVID‐19 policies: Policy diffusion during times of crisis

“…In the case of COVID‐19, policy learning is dynamic and takes time to develop from information acquisition to understanding and implementation (Osei‐Kojo et al, 2022 ). Learning about the success of social distancing policies is limited by both short time horizons and the rapid policy responses necessitated by the virus.…”

“…However, the case of COVID‐19 is unique in that, as an international crisis, rapidly changing conditions do not allow for a complete evaluation of policy impact prior to government action. Learning about COVID‐19 is dynamic and takes time to develop and disseminate (Osei‐Kojo et al, 2022 ), leading governments to observe actions taken by other countries and react quickly, often with limited information about likely policy impacts. The unprecedented speed of the pandemic required rapid policy changes without alterations in the underlying institutions that are thought to drive policy change.…”

Crises, technology, and policy change

“…The issue opens with an article on the most discussed crisis in recent years, namely the COVID‐19 pandemic. Osei‐Kojo, Kenney, et al (2022) present an analysis of policy documents in Ghana collected between March 2020 and May 2021. Public policy in African countries is one of the areas that have been comparatively little investigated so far, although there are some first applications of established frameworks like the ACF (Bandelow et al, 2022; Vecchione & Parkhurst, 2015).…”

Policy responses and public reactions to risks

“…Understanding policy responses to acute challenges gained considerable importance during the global COVID‐19 health crisis. The pandemic policy has been studied in relation to (dis)proportionality (Maor et al, 2020), policy learning (Osei‐Kojo et al, 2022; Zaki et al, 2022), accountability (Zahariadis et al, 2020), and various other psychological, institutional, and strategic factors (Maor & Howlett, 2020). Crow et al (2022) contribute to this research by investigating subnational pandemic policies and their adaptations in Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan and Washington from March to December 2020.…”

“…La comprensión de las respuestas políticas a los desafíos agudos adquirió una importancia considerable durante la crisis sanitaria mundial de la COVID‐19. La política pandémica se ha estudiado en relación con la (des)proporcionalidad (Maor et al, 2020), el aprendizaje de políticas (Osei‐Kojo et al, 2022; Zaki et al, 2022), la responsabilidad (Zahariadis et al, 2020), y varios otros factores psicológicos, institucionales y estratégicos (Maor & Howlett, 2020). Deserai A.…”