Covid-19 and Organisational Resilience in Brazil's Water Sector
32 Pages Posted: 3 May 2022
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic required a wide range of adaptation and adjustment to the way that water sector operated globally. This paper looks into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on water sector in Brazil. It focuses on water sector’s resilience from organisational point of view and analyses the performance of water sector in response to COVID-19 pandemic from the lens of water sector experts. This research adopts the framework developed by UK Southern Water and based on the principle and structure of BS 65000:2014 – Guidance on organizational resilience, to assess the organisation’s overall approach to resilience in Brazil. The six elements of Direction, Awareness, Alignment, Learning, Strengthening, and Assurance, were used as the core elements of assessment. A joint qualitative-quantitative surveying method is used for data collection to investigate the perceptions of water sector leaders. The analyses highlighted that due to the pre-existing challenges in water sector, the COVID-19 pandemic was identified as a threat multiplier. The state-owned companies showed a higher level of resilience maturity comparing to local companies. Local companies were most impacted indicating the lack of disproportionate distribution of resources and insufficient strategic planning to increase preparedness for response and recovery. Finally, some key strengths of the water sector were identified and opportunities for improvement of resilience maturity were recognised.
Keywords: COVID-19, pandemic, water sector, organisational resilience
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