Collaborative governance in emergencies: Community food supply in COVID-19 in Wuhan, China

Country governments and the WHO advocated that the "whole-of-government" and the "whole-of-society" approaches are necessary to fight against the pandemic. However, it is unclear what it means in practice and its implications in the of context of food security and in emergencies. This article examines the “whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach” (WOG-WOS), how the government and non-government stakeholders have quickly engaged in collaborative governance to address the community food supply challenges. This research analyzed government policies and reports, scanned grey literature and conduced in-depth interviews with key stakeholders in Wuhan working on the frontline of food supply during the first wave of COVID-19 lockdown. The findings contribute to the literature on collaborative governance in emergency management. The case of Wuhan makes the point that the government and the society are interdependent in emergencies. For the whole society to achieve its full potential, the governments need to focus on the goals, function as open-minded coordinators and adopt a flexible governing structure.