Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous, often inconsistent, decisions were made at the national, state, and local level and in the many dozens of judicial opinions issued since the onset of the pandemic in the United States. A committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine will organize a public workshop to: 1) examine factors that affected the ability of public health agencies and federal, state, and local governments to respond successfully to the COVID-19 pandemic; and 2) explore approaches that might enable a more effective governmental response to future public health crises. The workshop will consider questions such as:

1) How should responsibility among levels of government be allocated in dealing with a public health crisis?;

2) To what extent do federal, state, and local governments have the necessary authority to take essential actions?;

3) Is there sufficient clarity as to which levels of government are responsible for particular actions?; and

4) What lessons can be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to inform government responses to pandemics in the future?

A proceedings in brief prepared in accordance with institutional guidance by a designated rapporteur will be issued following the workshop.