Co-Production and Co-Creation: Engaging Citizens in Public Services

Co-production and co-creation occur when citizens participate actively in delivering and designing the services they receive. It has come increasingly onto the agenda of policymakers, as interest in citizen participation has more generally soared. Expectations are high and it is regarded as a possible solution to the public sector's decreased legitimacy and dwindling resources, by accessing more of society's capacities. In addition, it is seen as part of a more general drive to reinvigorate voluntary participation and strengthen social cohesion in an increasingly fragmented and individualized society.

"Co-Production and Co-Creation: Engaging Citizens in Public Services" offers a systematic and comprehensive theoretical and empirical examination of the concepts of co-production and co-creation and their application in practice. It shows the latest state of knowledge on the topic and will be of interest both to students at an advanced level, academics and reflective practitioners. It addresses the topics with regard to co-production and co-creation and will be of interest to researchers, academics, policymakers, and students in the fields of public administration, business administration, economics, political science, public management, political science service management, sociology and voluntary sector studies.

Taco Brandsen is Professor of Comparative Public Administration at Radboud University, The Netherlands; secretary-general of the European Association for Public Administration Accreditation (EAPAA); co-chair of the EGPA Permanent Study Group on 'Civil Society, Citizens and Government'; and editor-in-chief of the journal Voluntas.

Trui Steen is Professor of Public Governance and Coproduction of Public Services at KU Leuven Public Governance Institute, Belgium. She is co-chair of the IIAS Study Group on 'Co-production of Public Services'.

Bram Verschuere is Associate Professor in Public Management, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium. He is co-chair of the EGPA Permanent Study Group on 'Civil Society, Citizens and Government'.