Public administration and COVID-19 management in a local context. A
research on citizens' and administrators' point of view in Tuscany
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic, despite being global, has highlighted the
importance of the local government in the management of the emergency.
This study is focused on a small village in Tuscany and explores the
local dimension through a series of in-depth interviews with local
administrators and a survey with a representative sample of the local
population to determine their evaluation of the actions and
communication strategies of the local government. The findings show an
articulated but meaningful relationship between the central and the
local administration, a positive evaluation on the part of citizens,
and, in general, good social cohesion, although not fully supported by
the engagement of civic cultures heavily restricted by the emergency.