Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Innovation Without Participation? The Counterfactuals of Community Co-production

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Voluntary and Public Sector Collaboration in Scandinavia

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Third Sector Research ((PSTSR))

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors investigate whether the involvement of volunteers and voluntary organizations in community co-production helps create the prerequisites for innovation in the public sector. Specifically, the authors investigate whether community co-production (1) helps increase voluntary participation and the sharing of knowledge and ideas and (2) contributes to the delivery and implementation of public services. The chapter is based on a large qualitative case study of co-production in a Danish municipality. The main finding is that co-producing volunteers do not participate in the development or design of municipal policies and services. Furthermore, cross-sector collaboration mainly requires volunteers to fill gaps in the existing public services rather than help develop and innovate public services.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aalborg Municipality. (2015a). Aalborg Kommunes Frivillighedsstrategi. https://www.aalborg.dk/media/6106210/frivilligstrategi.pdf

  • Aalborg Municipality. (2015b). Strategi for modtagelse af flygtninge—Aalborg Kommune.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aalborg Municipality. (2015c). Aftale mellem Aalborg Kommune. Ældre- og Handicapforvaltningen og de faglige organisationer om spilleregler for samarbejdet mellem frivillige og professionelle pÃ¥ ældre og handicapomrÃ¥det.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aalborg Municipality. (n.d.). Frivillig i ældre og sundhed—Aalborg Kommune.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agger, A., & Tortzen, A. (2015). Forskningsreview om samskabelse. Roskilde Universitetscenter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bovaird, T. (2007). Beyond engagement and participation: User and community coproduction of public services. Public Administration Review, 67(5), 846–860.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bovaird, T., & Loeffler, E. (2012). From engagement to co-production: The contribution of users and communities to outcomes and public value. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 23(4), 1119–1138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bovaird, T., Van Ryzin, G. G., Loeffler, E., & Parrado, S. (2015). Activating citizens to participate in collective co-production of public services. Journal of Social Policy, 44(1), 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brandsen, T., & Honingh, M. (2018). Definitions of co-production and co-creation. In T. Brandsen, B. Verschuerer, & T. Steen (Eds.), Co-production and co-creation: Engaging citizens in public services (pp. 9–17). Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Brandsen, T., & Pestoff, V. (2006). Co-production, the third sector and the delivery of public services: An introduction. Public Management Review, 8(4), 493–501.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brandsen, T., Steen, T., & Verschuere, B. (2018). Co-creation and co-production in public services: Urgent issues in practice and research. In T. Brandsen, B. Verschuerer, & T. Steen (Eds.), Co-production and co-creation: Engaging citizens in public services (pp. 3–8). Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Brudney, J. L., & England, R. E. (1983). Toward a definition of the coproduction concept. Public Administration Review, 43(1), 59–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dekker, P. 2019. From Pillarized Active Membership to Populist Active Citizenship. The Dutch Do Democracy. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. Vol. 30(1) 74–85

    Google Scholar 

  • Evers, A. (1998). Consumers, citizens and coproducers—A pluralistic perspective on democracy in social services. In F. Gaby & O. Hans-Uwe (Eds.), Towards more democracy in social services. Models and culture of welfare (pp. 43–51). Walter de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fehsenfeld, M. (2019). Politisering af frivillighed i samspillet mellem den offentlige og den frivillige sektor: ‘Vi skal tænke gadekæret ind’. Politica: Tidsskrift for Politisk Videnskab, 51(4), 507–525.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frederiksen, M. (2015). Dangerous, commendable or compliant: How Nordic people think about volunteers as providers of public welfare services. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 26(5), 1739–1758.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gillard, S., Simons, L., Turner, K., Lucock, M. & Edwards, C., 2012. Patient and Public Involvement in the Coproduction of Knowledge: Reflection on the Analysis of Qualitative Data in a Mental Health Study. Qualitative Health Research. 22(8) 1126–1137

    Google Scholar 

  • Government of Denmark. (2017). Strategi for et stærkere civilsamfund. https://www.regeringen.dk/media/4154/strategi-for-et-staerkere-civilsamfund-pdf.pdf

  • Grubb, A., & Frederiksen, M. (2021). Speaking on behalf of the vulnerable? Voluntary translations of citizen needs to policy in community co-production. Public Management Review, 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grubb, A., & Henriksen, L. S. (2019). On the changing civic landscape in Denmark and its consequences for civic action. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 30(1), 62–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibsen, B., & Espersen, H. H. (2016). Kommunernes samarbejde med civile aktører. Forskelle og ligheder i forventninger, praksis, samarbejdspartnere og oplevet udbytte. KORA. http://www.kora.dk/media/5619317/10995-kommunernes-samarbejde-medcivile-aktoerer.pdf

  • Levine, C. H., & Fisher, G. (1984). Citizenship and service delivery: The promise of coproduction. Public Administration Review, 44, 178–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Müller, M., & Pihl-Thingvad, S. (2020). User involvement in social work innovation: A systematic and narrative review. Journal of Social Work, 20(6), 730–750.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Needham, C. (2008). Realising the potential of co-production: Negotiating improvements in public services. Social Policy and Society, 7(2), 221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osborne, S. P. (2006). The new public governance? Public Management Review, 8(3), 377–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pestoff, V. (2009). Towards a paradigm of democratic participation: Citizen participation and co-production of personal social services in Sweden. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 80(2), 197–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pestoff, V. (2012). Co-production and third sector social services in Europe: Some concepts and evidence. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 23(4), 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pestoff, V. (2013). New public governance, co-production and third sector social services in Europe: Crowding in and crowding out. In New public governance, the third sector, and co-production (pp. 379–398). Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Pestoff, V., & Brandsen, T. (2010). Public governance and the third sector: Opportunities for co-production and innovation? In S. Osborne (Ed.), The new public governance? New perspectives on the theory and practice of public governance (pp. 223–235). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Voorberg, W., Bekkers, V., & Tummers, L. (2014). Co-creation in social innovation: A comparative case-study on the influential factors and outcomes of co-creation. IRSPM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Voorberg, W. H., Bekkers, V. J., & Tummers, L. G. (2015). A systematic review of co-creation and co-production: Embarking on the social innovation journey. Public Management Review, 17(9), 1333–1357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yin, R. K. (2013). Case study research: Design and methods. Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Morten Frederiksen, Lars Skov Henriksen & Ane Grubb

Authors
  1. Morten Frederiksen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lars Skov Henriksen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ane Grubb
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Morten Frederiksen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Bjarne Ibsen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Frederiksen, M., Henriksen, L.S., Grubb, A. (2021). Innovation Without Participation? The Counterfactuals of Community Co-production. In: Ibsen, B. (eds) Voluntary and Public Sector Collaboration in Scandinavia . Palgrave Studies in Third Sector Research. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72315-6_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72315-6_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-72314-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-72315-6

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation