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Realising the Potential of Co-production: Negotiating Improvements in Public Services

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2008

Catherine Needham
Catherine Needham*
Affiliation:
Queen Mary, University of London E-mail: c.e.needham@qmul.ac.uk
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Abstract

The concept of co-production – also called co-creation – is gaining widespread attention as a way to increase user involvement in service provision in the UK. It is usually taken as self-evident that more co-production will improve services. However, it is necessary to be clear about how far and in what ways co-production can improve public services. This article looks at the purported advantages of co-production, and considers how these can best be accessed. A case study workshop involving social housing users and providers, conducted as part of the National Consumer Council-Unison Shared Solutions project, is used to illustrate the need for collective dialogue and deliberation between co-producers rather than purely transactional forms of co-production.

Type
Themed Section on Choice or voice
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , April 2008 , pp. 221 - 231
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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