Project Summary

The research project’s overall aim is to improve the effectiveness and intensity of government policy action during the pandemic. The outcome is an evidence-based decision support toolkit for the Qatari government with regards to policy measures and instruments to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. The project’s objectives were to (1) produce a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative dataset of government policy responses and measures in 10 selected countries of the MENA region (Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and all GCC states) to the pandemic, to allow for cross-country comparison; (2) produce data analytics in the form of graphs, charts, and interactive visualizations to enhance insight into the complex nature of governmental crisis response measures and to produce comparative policy analysis; (3) inform and support Qatari and regional government policy analysis and decision-making by providing a reliable data and knowledge base of COVID-19 policy interventions in the region.

The team developed a comprehensive dataset template and focused the data collection methodology on three main areas of government response to the pandemic: public health interventions, economic and finance interventions, and social policy interventions. For each of these areas, subcategories of policy measures and interventions were identified. The study rigorously collected qualitative and quantitative data for policy interventions in each area and subcategory for each country. The data was harvested from official inter-governmental bulletins and datasets, official government bulletins, announcements and websites, trusted news sources traced back to official sources, policy briefs and documents, and academic publications.

Keywords, Tags

CPP Public Health Policy