Hybrid Coordination for Coping with the Medical Surge from the COVID‐19 Pandemic: Paired Assistance Programs in China

Abstract

The COVID‐19 pandemic poses unprecedented challenges to public health care systems and demands intergovernmental coordination to cope with the resulting medical surge. This essay analyzes the operation of Paired Assistance Programs (PAPs) in China, offering a timely comparative case for researchers and practitioners to examine when reflecting on the classic debate over the hierarchical versus network approaches to coordination in emergency management. PAPs highlight the importance of network management and necessity of institutionalizing mechanisms of governance to facilitate coordination within multilevel response systems.

Campaign-style crisis regime: how China responded to the shock of COVID-19

“…Of course, the campaign-style crisis regime is embedded into China's political context. The party-government structure within the political regime, the corporatist relationship between the Party-state and society and the institutional history and heritage of crisis governance, are all key factors that affect China's campaign-style governance arrangements (Schwartz and Evans 2007;Thornton 2009;Zhong and Lu 2018;Mei 2020;He, Shi, and Liu 2020;Hu et al 2020).…”

“…Practically, both China's campaign-style regime and other countries' successful experience are embedded in their specific institutional histories (Christensen and Laegreid 2020;Woo 2020;Moon 2020;Mei 2020;He, Shi, and Liu 2020;Hu et al 2020), however, China's experience of relying on more powerful political forces to integrate conflict policy mix, ideas, and interests, is still worth learning. Consistent and penetrating idea construction, coherent and authoritative decision-making, integrated institutional arrangements, and diversified mechanisms of interest and resource mobilization remain important lessons for effective epidemic prevention and control worldwide.…”

“…First, by early February 2020, under the guidance of supervision teams from the central government, medical teams from 29 provinces, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and the Army were dispatched to Wuhan to alleviate the severe shortages and overburden of the local medical staff. Second, with the rapid spread of the epidemic in Hubei, the NHC instituted paired assistance (Zhong and Lu 2018;Hu et al 2020) between 19 provinces and cities in Hubei Province (excluding Wuhan). After receiving instructions from the central leading group, the supporting provinces dispatched 25 medical teams and more than 3500 medical personnel within two days, covering the needs of 16 municipalities in Hubei.…”

Introduction: COVID‐19 Viewpoint Symposium, Part II

“…Finally, Hu et al (2020) look at paired assistance programs in China to show differences in hierarchical versus network approaches to emergency management response and coordination. The intricacies involved in their study highlight again the need for network flexibility to foster positive response to crises.…”

Impact of COVID 19 on the provision of services by public administration

“…Responding to such a cross-border global coronary crisis requires the involvement of government agencies at all levels, as well as at a broad level of a range of organizations from non-profit to private sectors. [1] The situation in the Slovak Republic began to change dramatically. Concerns about the corona crisis have become a reality.…”