Learning to co-produce? The perspective of public service professionals

E-ISSN： 1758-6666|28|7|583-598

ISSN： 0951-3558

Source： International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol.28, Iss.7, 2015-10, pp. : 583-598

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

<title content-type="abstract-heading">Purpose</title>– The purpose of this paper is to report on how public service professionals cope with co-production as a way to produce and develop public services.<title content-type="abstract-heading">Design/methodology/approach</title>– The paper draws on the literature of co-production and collaborative public service innovation. The research approach was an explorative case study, presenting a pilot neighbourhood co-production project.<title content-type="abstract-heading">Findings</title>– Conflicting approaches to co-production with various implications are used simultaneously, causing uncertainly among the professional co-producers. When moving from rhetoric to practice there seems to be a lack of tools and methods for applying and utilising the possibilities of co-production. The processes of co-production and their implications should be thoroughly understood and managed throughout public service organisations, from politicians to frontline workers.<title content-type="abstract-heading">Practical implications</title>– The paper demonstrates that co-production calls for renewed organisational structures and managerial tools, especially concerning the evaluation of co-production. Focal managerial, organisational, cultural and processual notions for supporting professional co-production are provided.<title content-type="abstract-heading">Originality/value</title>– This paper makes an important contribution to the discussion of co-production, examining an important, yet understudied, perspective on public service professionals as co-producers.