Gathering Intelligence for Robust Crisis Governance: A Literature Review and Research Agenda

The COVID‐19 crisis has highlighted the critical role and challenges of information processing during turbulent times. While expert knowledge can reassure citizens, it may also seem exclusive, and government communication often risks being overwhelming or unclear. These dynamics underscore the complex relationship between information and crisis governance—a timely topic for renewed examination. This paper reviews literature at the intersection of information processing, knowledge management, and crisis governance to guide future research with heightened awareness of contemporary challenges. It critically examines existing work and identifies three key issues: the strategic production and use of knowledge, managing uncertainty, and fostering learning. The paper also explores how knowledge exchanges are enacted in practice and proposes directions for further study.