„Kriseninternes Lernen“ und „krisenübergreifendes Lernen“ in der deutschen Kommunalverwaltung: Eine empirische Analyse von Verwaltungshandeln während der Flüchtlingskrise und der Corona-Pandemie

Crises constitute a test of the efficiency of the administrations under real conditions. This is where this article departs, comparatively analyzing the recent “migration crisis” and first wave of the COVID pandemic. Against the backdrop of the debate on organizational learning of public administration in exceptional situations, the analysis focuses on the role of administrative networks and the ability to learn during and between crises. The evaluation of two surveys among employees of German local government shows firstly that the quality of networking within the administration and civil society is of central importance for administrative crisis performance. Second, successful crisis performance corresponds to the willingness and organizational ability to draw lessons from previous crises.