Co-production is the involvement of citizens and service users in the provision of services they receive as beneficiaries. However, many co-production projects are short-term initiatives, limiting their ability to create lasting change. An article in Public Management Review discusses how co-production can progress from pilot projects and programs to being embedded in cultures and processes, extending beyond individual services or projects. Making the best use of co-production is a critical issue for public managers who are grappling with increasingly complex problems.
About co-production
Co-production of public services refers to the ongoing collaboration between professional service providers and service users or community members, where all parties contribute significant resources. By involving citizens and service users directly in service delivery, power shifts from professionals to service users, recognising them as experts by experience.
Mainstreaming co-production can be understood as a particular process of organisational learning. Co-production is mainstreamed when citizen and/or users’ inputs are integrated as a way of working and when it is meaningful. It also creates value both for citizens and/or users and the public service organisation.
Degrees of co-production mainstreaming
The article introduces a co-production mainstreaming typology with the following stages:
Ad hoc facilitations are spontaneous acts of co-production that can happen at both the individual and collective levels. At the individual level, street-level co-producers use their discretion to adapt their actions and service delivery to meet the needs of citizens. At the collective level, street-level co-producers adjust their practices together, for example, within their team or unit.
Pilot projects are trials used to test a concept, idea or method on a smaller scale before considering it for implementation on a larger scale.
Projects are fully fledged services with the expectation they will be beneficial and create public value. These can build on the success or experiences from pilot projects.
Programs consist of many projects. While projects are focused on delivering a specific output or outcome, programs often focus on delivering a range of related outputs and outcomes that contribute to a larger strategic goal.
Culture refers to the ‘under the surface’ elements of organisations including values and ways of working. The true value of co-production in driving systems change will only be fully realised when it is integrated into organisational practices.
For co-production to become part of an organisation’s culture, it needs to be supported by formal structures, processes and leadership commitment. This involves building understanding and fostering a mindset that values and embraces co-production and the involvement of citizens across the organisation. Of course, organisations also need to consider how appropriate a focus on mainstreaming co-production is given their context, and the balance between supporting small-scale ad hoc co-production and more sustained activities.
The role of organisational learning
Bringing co-production to the forefront requires commitment from individuals at different levels within the organisation. It also needs intra- and inter-organisational collaboration, where professionals and managers across different departments, divisions, or units work together with citizens to co-produce shared services. As co-production becomes more mainstreamed it can become embedded within the organisation through a gradual process of integration.
Mainstreaming co-production involves a dual-directional flow of knowledge. There is the imperative to ‘feed forward’ knowledge gained at the individual level upwards to the organisational level. Here it can inform strategic decision-making and shape overarching policies. But there must also be mechanisms in place for feedback to flow downwards and continue the process of growth and change.
Limitations and barriers
There are challenges and barriers that can hinder mainstreaming co-production. Established structures and processes can be deeply entrenched, leading to hesitancy among frontline staff and local managers to adopt new methods that share decision-making power. Mainstreaming co-production also demands dedicated resources such as funding, personnel and time. Organisations may struggle to allocate sufficient resources to support co-production initiatives, especially when faced with competing priorities.
Government bureaucracy and entrenched traditional hierarchies have proven to be significant barriers for co-production As organisations progress towards the more mainstreamed stages of co-production, the demand for coordination and communication within and across organisational boundaries intensifies. However, the complexity of intra- and inter-organisational relationships can be compounded by existing and disparate organisational structures, processes, and systems.
The bottom line
Mainstreaming and sustaining co-production relies on individual, spontaneous acts and formally organised and institutionalised activities. The true value of co-production in creating systems change is only realised when it is not ringfenced but becomes part of an organisation’s functions.
Want to read more?
- Mainstreaming co-production: from pilot to practice – Nanna Møller Mortensen, Caitlin McMullin and Jacob Brix, Public Management Review, July 2025
Each fortnight The Bridge summarises a piece of academic research relevant to public sector managers.
Recent Research Briefs on co-production and co-design include:
- Published Date: 13 August 2025