Societal intelligence: A knowledge approach to robust governance of crisis-induced turbulence

One of the most significant features of COVID-19 pandemic governance was the involvement of experts in decision-making, which included epidemiologists, medical doctors, economists, and behavioral specialists. In contrast, the knowledge of citizens, business owners, and civil society organizations had less impact on political decisions and interventions. The lack of integration of different types of knowledge may have limited the options for robust governance solutions. This conceptual paper asks how the interactions among different types of knowledge contribute to the robust governance of crisis-induced turbulence. To answer this question, this paper proposes the new concept of societal intelligence. Building on the work on collective wisdom and collective intelligence, societal intelligence aims at filling the gap on the conditions under which knowledge exchanges take place, focusing on the decisions that individual actors such as politicians, experts and citizens must take when facing turbulence. We conceptualize these knowledge exchanges taking place in interfaces, and the conditions for building societal intelligence therein. The paper also discusses practices and mechanisms that built this intelligence during the COVID-19 pandemic, based on data from nine European countries. We argue that building and maintaining societal intelligence can provide more nuanced understanding of a crisis, more responsive and legitimate solutions, and ultimately robust crisis governance.