Towards the Co-Production of Public Services
The case for public service reform is obvious, nothing less than radical innovation will allow us to tackle the major social challenges we face and co-production should be at the heart of the solution.
The British National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) in partnership with nef (the new economics foundation), has published an important new report, ‘The Challenge of Co-production‘.
It “argues that in the face of an unprecedented set of new challenges; increasing demand, rising expectations, reduced budgets and seemingly intractable social problems, co-production – users and professionals working together to design and deliver public services in equal partnership – has the potential to deliver a major shift in the way we provide public services.
By involving individuals and users in the design and delivery of public services, rather than treating them as passive recipients of services, co-production allows health, education, policing and other public services to be delivered more effectively, more efficiently and more sustainably.
The case for co-production has been building amongst policy makers. But whilst much has been said about the opportunity, today’s report for the first time takes a practical, in-depth look at what co-production is, how it works, how it can help deliver more for less and points to what the next steps must be for co-production to move into the mainstream.
Jonathan Kestenbaum, Chief Executive of NESTA, says: ‘This is a pivotal moment for public service design. The case for public service reform is obvious, nothing less than radical innovation will allow us to tackle the major social challenges we face and co-production should be at the heart of the solution.’
The report is the first of three publications to be delivered from a major project between NESTA’s Public Services Innovation Lab and nef to increase the understanding of co-production and how it can be applied to public services. The partnership includes establishing a network of pioneering frontline workers from across the UK who are transforming the services they deliver by co-producing them with their users.
Speaking about the report, co-author and nef Fellow David Boyle said ‘This report sets out an outline of the biggest revolution in the shape of public services since Beveridge at a time when policy makers are desperately cheeseparing the old model of public services. Co-production provides a potential answer of how public services can be more effective, more preventative and more sustainable’.”