Co-Production and the Co-Creation of Value in Public Services: A suitable case for treatment?

TLDR

Co‑production is a global policy reform cornerstone, touted as a means to improve service delivery, democratic participation, and resource mobilization, yet it remains poorly defined and often treated as a vague concept. The paper aims to provide a theoretically grounded conceptualization of co‑production based on public and service management theory. The authors develop this conceptual framework by integrating insights from public management and service management literature. They argue that this framework offers a solid foundation for future research and evidence‑based public policy development.

Abstract

Co-production is currently one of cornerstones of public policy reform across the globe. Inter alia, it is articulated as a valuable route to public service reform and to the planning and delivery of effective public services, a response to the democratic deficit and a route to active citizenship and active communities, and as a means by which to lever in additional resources to public service delivery. Despite these varied roles, co-production is actually poorly formulated and has become one of a series of 'woolly-words' in public policy. This paper presents a conceptualization of co-production that is theoretically rooted in both public management and service management theory. It argues that this is a robust starting point for the evolution of new research and knowledge about co-production and for the development of evidence-based public policymaking and implementation.