Working in the Crisis: Practitioners' perceptions of and responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic was one of many global challenges localities have contended with over the past few decades. In response to such global pressures, economic development practitioners are tasked with safeguarding their localities’ economic and social well-being. But little is known about how these types of shocks and challenges have influenced overall economic development practices and planning. To address this question, we conducted in-depth interviews with thirty-seven local economic development practitioners from Ontario, Canada. We find that practitioners, in their bounded autonomy, push back against global forces such as the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to safeguard their localities. Further, the findings show that over the last three years a shift occurred in nearly all parts of local economic development – from greater emphasis on human capital, to changes in what sectors of local economies are favored and targeted, to alterations in the day-to-day work occurring within local economic development offices.