Restoring Trust in Public Policy Process

A generally held definition of the subjective phenomenon of trust can be articulated as a positive perception about the actions and intentions of an individual or an organization. Trust in government gives the public confidence that officials and representatives of the people will act as expected in the best interest of the public, either in a particular action or in a set of actions. Trust is equally based on interpretation of, or perception about, facts. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported that trust in government had consistently declined since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, and in 2019 just 45% of citizens in the average OECD country trusted their governments. Deterioration in public trust challenges policy implementation and threatens the economic stability and the social stability of a society. The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the lack of trust in many countries, and their ability to fight the pandemic was significantly hampered because of public distrust. By examining the relevant literature and data from the Edelman Trust Barometer, this chapter seeks to identify the relationship between effective public policy responses and trust in government, to suggest how trust can be restored in public policy and public administration processes. The conclusions drawn will have potential regional and global implications.