Insights on Municipal Government Capacity and Community Resilience from Intergovernmental Grants

Abstract

Securing intergovernmental grant funding during crises provides insight into the adaptive capacities of municipalities. This study explores the relationship between municipal administrative capacity and grant awards during the COVID-19 pandemic in Maine. We analyzed data on 484 municipal governments of varying sizes and interviewed twenty officials to assess access to the Keep Maine Healthy Program . Awards were positively associated with municipal administrative capacity and program need, and program characteristics influenced the administrative costs and required capacity of awards. This work encourages future research on the robustness of the administrative capacity-grant award relationship during crisis and non-crisis conditions, underscores the significance of program characteristics to grant access, and inspires further consideration of municipal government capacities as adaptive capacities.