When countries are impacted by a crisis, comparisons at the national level are often drawn. Whilst useful, this approach fails to explore how local measures are enacted alongside centralised responses. This paper addresses that gap by examining England’s intergovernmental response to the Covid-19 pandemic. With a focus on multi-level governance (MLG) and resilience theories the paper explores how tiers of government respond to the demands of the crisis. The focus is primarily on the responses of those involved with responding to the economic crisis with a recognition of the interlinked health and environmental crises. Adopting a case study approach, which included some of the areas hardest hit by the pandemic, the paper asks whether the application of MLG provided a resilient system to the shock of the pandemic. The findings illustrate local government sought to respond quickly, but decision-making was too often centrally controlled rather than devolved to the most appropriate scale. The paper draws lessons for how England might think constructively about its post pandemic reorientation considering the adaptation of intergovernmental roles and subnational governance that permits greater devolution to facilitate place-based recovery. Drawing on the knowledge gained throughout the pandemic, the paper argues that to Level Up in England and address the long-term economic and societal imbalances will demand a place-based recovery model.

中文翻译：

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了解有弹性的地方：危机时期的多层次治理

当国家受到危机影响时，通常会在国家层面进行比较。虽然有用，但这种方法未能探索如何在集中响应的同时制定地方措施。本文通过研究英格兰对 Covid-19 大流行的政府间反应来解决这一差距。本文重点关注多层次治理 (MLG) 和弹性理论，探讨各级政府如何应对危机的需求。重点主要是那些参与应对经济危机的人的反应，并认识到相互关联的健康和环境危机。该论文采用案例研究方法，其中包括一些受大流行影响最严重的领域，询问 MLG 的应用是否为大流行带来的冲击提供了一个弹性系统。调查结果表明，地方政府试图迅速做出反应，但决策往往受到中央控制，而不是下放至最合适的规模。该论文总结了英格兰如何建设性地思考其大流行后的重新定位，考虑到政府间角色和地方治理的适应，从而允许更大的权力下放以促进基于地方的复苏。该论文利用在整个大流行期间获得的知识，认为要在英格兰升级并解决长期的经济和社会失衡问题，将需要一种基于地方的复苏模式。该论文总结了英格兰如何建设性地思考其大流行后的重新定位，考虑到政府间角色和地方治理的适应，从而允许更大的权力下放以促进基于地方的复苏。该论文利用在整个大流行期间获得的知识，认为要在英格兰升级并解决长期的经济和社会失衡问题，将需要一种基于地方的复苏模式。该论文总结了英格兰如何建设性地思考其大流行后的重新定位，考虑到政府间角色和地方治理的适应，从而允许更大的权力下放以促进基于地方的复苏。该论文利用在整个大流行期间获得的知识，认为要在英格兰升级并解决长期的经济和社会失衡问题，将需要一种基于地方的复苏模式。