Enhancing coproduction through the lens of policy development: a comparison between two developing countries

Abstract

This article examines how the practice of coproduction can be enhanced from the perspective of choosing and implementing policy instruments in countries like Ghana and Nigeria. The findings show that it is a specific combination of substantive and procedural policy instruments embedded in governing resources relating to information, authority, treasury and organization, which make for effective and sustainable coproduction. Social outcomes of coproduction depend largely on the activation of the practice itself. The findings are based on document analysis and the opinions and experiences of public managers in rural water agencies and primary health centers (PHCs) in both countries.

Keywords:

• coproduction
• comparative
• qualitative analysis
• policy instruments
• governing resources
• basic public services
• developing countries

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mary S. Mangai

Mary S. Mangai has a Master’s degree in Economic Development and Policy Analysis from the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. She obtained a PhD in Management Sciences from the Department of Public Administration, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands. Her PhD thesis is entitled “An Alternative Solution to Service Delivery Problems in Developing Countries”. She is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA), University of Pretoria, South Africa. Her research focuses on public policy and management, coproduction, public service delivery, local government and developing countries.

Michiel S. De Vries

Michiel S. de Vries is a full professor of Public Administration. He holds the chair in Public Administration at the Radboud University of Nijmegen. He is past president of International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA), full member of the Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self-Government of the Council of Europe and member of the editorial board of numerous journals on Public Administration. He has a PhD in Law (Utrecht University). In 2016 he received a Doctor Honoris Causa in Public Economics from the Masaryk University of Brno. His research concentrates on local government, policy evaluation, policy change and comparative public administration.