Activating citizens to participate in collective co-production

What is it about?

User and community co-production of public services first became topical in the late 1970s, both in private and public sectors. Recent interest has been triggered by recognition that the outcomes for which public agencies strive rely on multiple stakeholders, particularly service users and the communities in which they live. Extra salience has been given to the potential of co-production due to fiscal pressures facing governments since 2008. However, there has been little quantitative empirical research on citizen co-production behaviours. The authors therefore undertook a large-sample survey in five European countries to fill this gap. This article examines an especially significant finding from this research – the major gulf between current levels of collective co-production and individual co-production. It explores the drivers of these large differences and examines what the social policy implications would be if, given the potential benefits, the government wishes to encourage greater collective co-production.

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Why is it important?

In spite of this growing interest, there has been little quantitative empirical research on citizen co-production. The study reported here, involving a major survey of co-production by citizens in five countries, is therefore unique. This paper examines in detail an especially significant aspect which has emerged from this study – the phenomenon of collective, as opposed to individual, co- production. Previous research has suggested that citizens are more likely to engage in co-production of public services and social outcomes with public agencies when the relevant actions are relatively easy and can be carried out individually rather than in groups (Loeffler et al., 2008; Parrado et al., 2013). However, there are reasons to believe that much of the potential pay-off from co-production, both to the public sector and to citizens, may come from collective activities. Moreover, the increasing interest of the third sector in promoting co-production opens up opportunities for more collective action. Thus, in this study we use international survey data to compare and contrast individual and collective co-production across countries, to examine the correlates of each type of co-production and to explore the policy implications.

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