Administrative Functionality as an Invisible Engine for Disaster Recovery: A Reflection from 2015 Nepal Earthquake

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to explore foundational factors in public administration that matter to citizens’ daily life post natural disasters. It is a qualitative study guided by classical grounded theory with 2015 Nepal Earthquake as a case. Sorting out of the data set by pattern specific entries revealed that response phenomena to Nepal 2015 Earthquake broadly fall under the following five key categories: (a) policies that pertain to disaster management, (b) institutional framework to respond to disaster situations, (c) establishment of National Reconstruction Authority, (d) sub-national chaos and hardship, and (e) retrospective thoughts. Further analysis of these features provided the logical founding of the study specific grounded theory as: Local level administrative functionality accompanied by minimum infrastructure that sustained is what matters for public service delivery to move citizens with their lives. By adding evidence to the body of knowledge on risk governance, this study is envisaged to inform policy makers to deeply question about operability of policies and frameworks when creating and/or revising them, as the study’s grounded theory confirmed that the abundance of nationally constructed policies and frameworks did not affect required responses for the citizens in need.