Learning lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

This study examines the literature on learning lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to make a conceptual and empirical contribution. The conceptual contribution suggests a simplified policy transfer framework for learning lessons from the proliferation of approaches involving an expanding and confusing mix of hypotheses, questions, criteria, domains, constructs, factors and criteria. This is then used to review the literature of lessons from COVID-19. This fuses the three reasons for transfer failure and the context-mechanism- outcome configuration of realist approaches to suggest three simple criteria of informed transfer (outcomes); complete transfer (mechanisms); and appropriate transfer (context). The empirical contribution suggests that it is difficult to learn lessons from the existing literature. The conceptual framework suggests that lessons about successful transfer involve a clear idea of policy success, understanding how the policy instrument or mechanism links with success in the original context, and how ‘fungible’ it is to the new context. Put another way, the ‘COVID lessons industry’ may itself need to learn that lessons about policy transfer should be informed, complete and appropriate.