The Role of Improvisation in Emergency Response Processes

In this chapter, an attempt is made to offer an analytical interpretation of the role the improvisation mechanism played in the response policies that Italy implemented to face the COVID-19 emergency. Among all the processes I saw unfolding, thanks to preliminary conversations with the top managers of the CPD, the SCEM staff and the general directorates of some ministries, 17 response processes proved to be particularly complex and urgent and to require multi-level governance systems with the involvement and coordination of numerous public and private actors. As explained in the previous chapters, these processes were characterised by different degrees of robustness, that is, by different capacities to implement innovative decisions and actions (creativity), to react in an agile and flexible manner to deal with unforeseen events or changes in the situation (flexibility), and to align the logics of the different organisations with a common objective (organisational alignment). Table 10.1 offers an overview of the emergency management processes that were adopted and their different degrees of robustness.