Independence, trust, and loyalty. The county governor's coordination of public and voluntary resources in crises in Norway

Abstract

Collaboration and communication are crucial factors in handling crises, whether the crisis is a serious landslide requiring emergency response for several days or a pandemic lasting for months. This article describes and analyses the governmental relationship with the local communities in critical situations with the COVID-19 pandemic as a case. In the Norwegian administrative organisation, the county governors have a defined role in their emergency responsibilities, including being chairpersons of the County Emergency Council (CEC). The Norwegian emergency system is organised with samvirke (translated to English as coordinated cooperation) as a core constituency. In this system, voluntary organisations have a formalised role in taking an active part in crisis handling. The inclusion of voluntary organisations in the CEC, as seen by the county governors, is used as a case study. The challenges of collaboration can be analysed using the terms independence, trust, and loyalty. Data are collected from governing documents and interviews with the county governors. The main factor in successful coordination is the governors' ability to support the municipalities and the local communities. They must balance between wants of independence and state control. The art of this balancing act is the topic of this article.

Norwegian Consumers’ Skepticism towards Smoke-Flavoring of Salmon—Is It for Real?

“…However, they were all skeptical of industry beneficial science assuming incomplete and selective research. In Norway, basic trust in authorities is high [ 59 ], while consumer attitude towards the food industry is influenced by multiple factors. According to Thorsøe et al [ 60 ], there is a strong link between credibility and trust.…”

Frivillighet i samvirke: Frivillige organisasjoners medvirkning i redningstjeneste og beredskapsarbeid

“…Det er ikke naturlig at de selv bruker de frivillige. Det er som del av beredskapsplaner og øvelser, og for å gjøre kommunene kjent med ressursene i de frivillige organisasjonene at denne relasjonen har en mening (Aasland & Braut, 2022).…”

“…Min medforfatter bidro med relevant teoretisk materiale til den endelige tekstutformingen. (Aasland & Braut, 2022). Spørsmålene jeg stilte var stort sett spørsmål om faktiske forhold.…”

“…Intervjumaterialet ble samlet på en generell måte som viser en viss variasjon i embetene, men som ikke identifiserer den enkelte statsforvalter (Aasland & Braut, 2022). Formålet med samtalene ble klargjort.…”

“…De innsamlete data ble i forkant av artikkelskrivingen inngående drøftet med min medforfatter. (Aasland & Braut, 2022). I en opplysende artikkel om offentlig administrasjon, framheves videre at den beste måten å komme til kjernen i offentlig administrasjon og byråkrati er deltakende observasjon sammen med det som kalles fokusgrupper.…”