Does co-creation impact public service delivery? The importance of state and governance traditions

Abstract

Co-creation in public service delivery requires partnerships between citizens and civil servants. The authors argue that whether or not these partnerships will be successful depends on state and governance traditions (for example a tradition of authority sharing or consultation). These traditions determine the extent to which co-creation can become institutionalized in a country’s governance framework.

Keywords:

• Co-creation
• game changer
• social innovation
• state and governance traditions

Acknowledgements

Our research was part of the project ‘Learning from Innovation in Public Sector Environments’ (LIPSE) funded by the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme (www.lipse.org). This paper builds on Voorberg and Bekkers (2016).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

William Voorberg

William Voorberg is a PhD student at Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Victor Bekkers

Victor Bekkers is a Professor of Public Policy at Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Sophie Flemig

Sophie Flemig is an Early Career Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, UK.

Krista Timeus

Krista Timeus is a PhD student at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, Germany.

Piret Tõnurist

Piret Tõnurist is a Research Fellow at Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia.

Lars Tummers

Lars Tummers is Associate Professor of Public Management at Utrecht University, The Netherlands.