The role of the mid-level bureaucracy in the COVID-19 pandemic

• Autor(a) principal: Guimarães, Flávia Alves
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Souza, Letícia Godinho de, Costa, Bruno Lazzarotti Diniz
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por; eng
• Título da fonte: Cadernos Gestão Pública e Cidadania (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.fgv.br/cgpc/article/view/88138
• topic: burocracia de médio escalão; pandemia de Covid-19; gestão de crises; administração pública; Assistência social; mid-level bureaucracy; COVID-19 pandemic; crisis management; public administration; social assistance; burocracia de nivel medio; pandemia de COVID-19; gestión de crisis; administración pública, cultura organizacional, cambio organizacional, habitus, campo.; asistencia social

This article explores the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of mid-level bureaucracy. This qualitative and exploratory investigation adopted the research strategy of a case study of the bureaucracy responsible for the social assistance policyof the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 2020. The research was conducted through bibliographic and documentary research and semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The bureaucracy’s perception of the changes in the intra-organizational dimensions ofpublic administration caused by the pandemic was captured. It was possible to notice that the crisis affected the work system, the decisionmaking processes, the interactions with other actors, and the skills required for the performance of the functions of these governmentactors. The research showed that how the mid-level bureaucracy acted helps to understand the functioning of the service and the resilience of public policy in the context of crisis.