Virtual committee meetings can offer governance advantages beyond just convenience and accessibility [Debate]

McKenna, Dave, Farrell, Catherine ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1377-4721 and Wall, Matthew 2026. Virtual committee meetings can offer governance advantages beyond just convenience and accessibility [Debate]. Public Money & Management 10.1080/09540962.2026.2746460

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Abstract

Virtual committee meetings became a necessity for national and local government during the global pandemic of 2020. While this enforced experiment brought to the fore the advantages of meeting online, the assumption that in-person meetings should be the default for good governance remained in place. In UK parliamentary debates on this issue, for example, virtual meetings were seen as second best, muting body language and hampering communication (Stirrup, Citation2021). However, virtual meetings have value beyond reducing the need for travel and making attendance easier. Indeed, virtual meetings can play a distinct and important role in governance. As with any communications medium, the question is not ‘how closely does this resemble meeting in-person?’ but ‘what needs can be met?’ (Hollan & Stornetta, Citation1992; Stokoe et al., Citation2021).

Item Type:	Short Communication
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Business (Including Economics)
Publisher:	Taylor and Francis Group
ISSN:	0954-0962
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	22 October 2026
Last Modified:	22 Oct 2026 11:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/190373

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