Frontline work in humanitarian disasters: Bridging state and non-state rationalities towards region-based, multi-layered crisis management

Our research project focuses on the "ad-hoc multilevel doing, deciding and cooperating" of state and non-state frontline work that emerged in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is estimated that between 1 and 1.7 million people in Switzerland were reliant on aid - either in the form of financial assistance, food aid, or other basic support. Most of such aid was provided by humanitarian organisations, foundations and churches, as well as private individuals working at the frontline. Consequently, these frontline workers implemented policies at the local level and filled gaps that state authorities could not or would not cover. We propose a multi-level governance approach that considers the variety of actors and their organisational rationalities to understand how they overcame organisational routines, built common procedures and, in some cases, reinterpreted the given legal framework. Due to its federal organisation and the response to COVID-19 on a national scale, in Switzerland this happens at the local and regional level. Moreover, we analyse such practices in the broader theoretical context of street level bureaucracy. Thus, we contribute to the deconstruction of the centrality of the state and argue that government research needs to consider non-governmental and private actors, acting on the frontline, that often function as the prolonged arm of the state.Our research is guided by two main sets of questions: (1) How did (non) state frontline work react to the (new) precarities that individuals faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic? What effects did the disruption in supporting people in need have on such actors? (2) Which groups were neglect-ed by state-funded support during the pandemic? How were these groups supported by alternatives? Which actors became visible in these support networks?Throughout our project we are pursuing three overall objectives: (1) To identify the people who have not been adequately reached in the current crisis and clarify how their inclusion can be en-sured now and in any coming crisis. (2) To generate evidence-based knowledge for state and non-state decision-makers to be able to comprehensively respond to potential future crises by developing a crisis management approach. (3) To establish a field of action and professional practice around 'Frontline Work' to understand policy implementation, state practices and the work of governments in relation to non-state actors.Our project is supported by the five most important humanitarian organisations in Switzerland, the two most important national free food distributors, Swiss Solidarity, a foundation that granted more than 43 million Swiss francs from the private sector during the national lockdown in support of frontline work organisations, and many local and regional frontline work organisations that have been working with affected people since the beginning of the pandemic, as well as the social welfare services of the cities of Lausanne, Basel, and Lugano - the three regions in which we conduct our in-depth case study. Our data collection consists of document analysis and reconstructive interviews across Switzerland and within the cantons of our case studies, as well as focus group discussions with frontline workers allowing us to draw on the data of such meetings, but also to validate our preliminary findings throughout the project and developing a prototype for future crisis management. The expected results are not only published in peer-reviewed scientific and professional oriented publications, but also in a policy brief together with process-oriented results that are further developed by practitioners (e.g., out of the focus group discussions).