Challenging the necessity of New Public Governance: Co‐production by third sector organizations under different models of public management

Abstract

In this article, I answer two research questions: How do different models of public management define relationships between the state and the third sector? And how do these relationships influence how third sector professionals involve citizens in co‐production? I consider evidence from non‐profits in France, England and Quebec to illustrate how three varying models of public management (neo‐Weberian state in France, New Public Management in England, and New Public Governance in Quebec) structure the relationships between government and the third sector (based, respectively, on hierarchy and control, contracting and performance management, and partnership) and how these in turn impact non‐profits' co‐production activities with citizens. The article challenges the thesis that co‐production is most compatible with the model of NPG, demonstrating the variety of co‐production activities that occur in all three contexts and providing new insights into the contextual contingency of the barriers and enablers to co‐production between third sector professionals and citizens. Résumé Deux questions sont abordées dans cet article : comment les modèles de management public définissent‐ils les relations entre l'État et le tiers secteur? Et comment ces relations influencent‐elles la manière dont les professionnels du tiers secteur impliquent les citoyens dans la coproduction des services? J'examine trois modèles de gestion publique (État néo‐wébérien en France, nouveau management publique en Angleterre et nouvelle gouvernance publique au Québec) d'organismes à but non lucratif (OBNLs) afin de comprendre comment les relations entre les gouvernements et le tiers secteur (fondé sur la hiérarchie et le contrôle, les contrats et la gestion des performances, et le partenariat) sont structurées et comment ces relations influencent les activités de coproduction entre les OBNLs et les citoyens. L'article questionne la thèse que la coproduction s'aligne davantage avec le modèle de NGP. Je démontre la variété des activités de coproduction dans les trois contextes et offre de nouvelles pistes de réflexion sur la contingence contextuelle des barrières et des moteurs de la coproduction entre professionnels du tiers secteur et citoyens.

Understanding the role of self-organizations in disaster relief during COVID-19: A case study from the perspective of co-production

“…Therefore, it is important truly understand the factors that influence co-production over time. Since any qualitative study has limits to the generalizability of the findings because it focuses on a relatively small number of cases in each context [ 78 ], future studies are expected to investigate how self-organizations can effectively engage in government activities for the betterment of the society. It encourages to extend the study conducted in a larger sample through both qualitative and quantitative methods in understanding the role of self-organizations to advance theories of disaster management and public policy.…”

CO‐DESIGN‐ing a morecontext‐based, pluralistic, and participatory future for public administration

“…Co‐production has suffered from conceptual ambiguity but has nonetheless become a prominent term used to describe the production of services that comes about from the collaboration between service providers and service users (Brandsen & Honingh, 2018; Dudau et al, 2019; Ostrom, 1996). The process and outcomes of co‐production, for instance, are collaborative in nature and are thought to enhance democratic public sector values such as participation, transparency, and accountability (Jørgensen & Bozeman, 2007; McMullin, 2021).…”

“…The interaction and cooperation between public service providers and the public are foundational to the “co‐” paradigm in the PA literature. Not to mention, it has its roots in the New Public Governance which has been the focus of PA research in the last decade or so (Bryson et al, 2014; McMullin, 2021; Osborne et al, 2016). Involving the public in the process of developing solutions and producing outcomes is certainly relevant to what we envision here but we also argue that public value can be created by involving PA researchers in these processes as well.…”

Citizen Coproduction and Social Media Communication: Delivering a Municipal Government’s Urban Services through Digital Participation

“…The concept of coproduction describes the service delivery process in which citizens are directly involved via professional agents (Brudney and England 1983;McMullin 2021). Ostrom (1996) broadly defined coproduction as occurring when the production process of public goods and services involves inputs from citizens.…”