The Handbook of Public Sector Communication

9How Does the Idea of Co‐Production Challenge Public Sector Communication?

Sanna Tuurnas

Defining the Topic

This chapter takes a public management and public administration viewpoint to examine public sector communication. As a way of discussing the altering public sector communication, I use the concept of co‐production. The aim is to study how co‐production changes public sector communication from the viewpoint of public sector agencies? Through this question, the chapter illustrates the way that the trend of co‐production poses for public management especially from the new communicative aspects.

The chapter first defines the topic, focusing on the concept of co‐production and its connection with public sector communication. The next two sections handle the theoretical background more in depth, first discussing the idea of co‐production in the context of public sector reform. Second, the different understandings of the (fuzzy) concept of co‐production and their origins are presented. These sections are followed by a presentation of case of a neighborhood co‐production project. The case highlights different aspects of changing patterns of communication through co‐production. The case also brings out critical viewpoints concerning the implementation and management of communication in co‐production. After the presentation of the case, critics, and challenges conclude the main issues related to communication reflected from the case. Finally, conclusions are drawn from the literature ...