Handbook of Public Administration, 3rd Edition

Chapter 13Coproducing Public Services with Service Users, Communities, and the Third Sector

Tony Bovaird and Elke Loeffler

Around the world, public managers and policy makers are turning to coproduction of public services with citizens and communities. This chapter sets out why coproduction matters in public services and public policy, its benefits compared to traditional service planning and delivery, its current extent and potential in different public services, the mechanisms that can be used to promote it, and its implications for the public sector and civic society.

Coproduction is not a new concept. It was the subject of intense interest in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, sparked by a group of scholars working with ...