Coproduction investments: Street-level management perspective on coproduction

Figures & data

Table 1. Data sources

		Police-Station Chiefs	School Principals	Heads of Social-Services Bureaus
N		32	25	21
Organization’s size^1	Small Medium Large	8 17 7	7 10 8	10 8 3
Years of experience as chief executive	Up to 5 years More than 5 years	23 9	9 16	3 18
# of Positions Held	1^st time 2^nd or more	14 18	14 11	14 7
Area	Urban Rural	22 10	17 8	15 6
Locality	Poor (1–4) Middle (5–7) Rich (8+)	14 12 6	9 11 5	7 9 5

Table 2. Coproduction framings in street-level organizations

Clients’ co-delivery essentiality	“Without the cooperation of the public, the ability of the [police] station to succeed and provide good service is more limited” (P5); “The school is not only mine, without the involvement of parents and students, it will be impossible to reach far [in terms of educational achievements]” (E16); “clearly, we have failing programs… [for example] we started a program .. but meanwhile [clients’ compliance] is far from what we had expected” (S7).
SLO-Clients interdependency	“They [clients] need us and we need them; we need their collaboration. We are completely interdependent” (P30); “We [clients and the SLO] have to work together all the time” (E3); “It is not them and us. It is not two camps, on the contrary” (S10).
Despite critical perspective	“No doubt that providing good service to the citizen encourages the cooperation of the citizens [with the police], which is the basis for police work…. But I think we have overreacted. We wanted to ‘over’ please the citizen. Today everyone is talking service, service and service” (P23); “Because schools fight for their existence, and a student is the existence, the relationship between school and parents is sometimes like ‘walking on eggs’. Because without cooperating with them it is very difficult to succeed. You cannot really upset them” (E22); “Our ability to ask or receive more resources for programs depends on the extent of community participation in these programs” (S9).

Table 3. An investment approach to coproduction

Investment dimension
Long-term devotion	“Cooperation of citizens with the police in the long-run doesn’t occur just like that; it’s a tremendous investment all the time” (P32); “It is important to establish a tradition of collaboration with parents. To create it, it takes time” (E7); “Creating trust between social services and [a specific community] is like running a marathon. It takes a long time” (S3).
Now for the future	“It will not affect my term, but our job is also to take care of the next generation” (P6); “It is easy for a principal to invest most of the work in better grades. It has immediate reward… [however] I insist… on educating to be engaged, to be active participants… it is a very important message. But these are future outcomes, which are difficult to notice” (E15); “The success of some programs can only be seen in a few years when [needy] families will become independent” (S18).
Clients’ co-delivery with all services provided by the SLO	“Law enforcement and order on football fields also has an effect on compliance with the law as a whole” (P22); “Parent involvement is not only to be for or against a particular program; it is also that they care about how a school looks” (E17); “As we start working with a needy family, it is important that we have cooperation in all areas of intervention” (S7).
Targeting clients’ willingness	“To persuade the public to take an active part in the police’s activity is not self-evident. Some see us in a negative light, we have to prove to them that working together will improve their security” (P30); “I invest a lot in my relationship [with parents] … It is important that they see that I keep my interest [in them] at all times, not just in times of need” (E18); “Attempts to cultivate populations that have lost trust in the establishment and do not ‘knock on our door’ require extensive ‘courting’ efforts” (S12).
Beyond SLO’s responsibility	“To be a part of the community means not only to enforce the law, but also to help disadvantaged groups” (P1); “A school can’t be an island… it is important to invest in projects that benefit the community as a whole” (E9); “We, as a bureau, are involved in the ‘green cities’ project, it is our contribution to the community and we want to be a model” (S21).

Table 4. Coproduction investment strategies

	Higher SES Community	Lower SES Community
Voice	Reciprocal Communication Setting up direct interactions with community members; Utilizing media channels; Providing direct and virtual communication channels for community members	Reaching Out Setting up direct interactions with clients and (in)formal leadership
Action	Responsiveness Providing tailor-made services and programs that clients and subgroups of the community ask for	Community-focused Initiatives Setting-up local projects and joint-programs in areas that exceed SLO’s responsibilities

Table 5. Voice investments aims

Sector\Aim	Learning	Advocating
Policing	“I hear what citizens have to say, what disturbs them… one needs to listen all the time—each has different complaints and requests” (P3).	“I had to give precise instructions [to citizens in order to improve neighborhood security]: to make sure that bars are installed on the higher floors, to make sure to have lighting in a stairwell, what to do when they see someone suspicious in different situations” (P4).
Social Services	“The better we understand [the community’s needs], the better we can match a treatment” (S1).	“Before we start therapy with a family [in a family rehabilitation program which utilizes extensive resources], we explicitly tell [the family members] what they are required to commit to, and if they don’t, they will be excluded from the program” (S8).
Education	“I try every morning to meet the parents and children when they arrive at school. This is a great opportunity to get a lot of information about what they are satisfied with, and about what they are less satisfied with” (E23).	“When I meet parents, I make sure to indicate what the school needs from them… also in areas that are not directly linked to learning. For example, the request we discussed this week is not sending candies to school” (E21).

Table 6. Voice investments practices

Sector	Higher SES: Reciprocal Communication	Lower SES: Reaching Out
Policing	“I meet all kinds of forums: house meetings, neighborhood committees, employee organizations … there is also twice a week an ‘open-door’ from 16:00–18:00—when every citizen can come to meet me” (P3).	“I send community officers knocking on the doors of the poorest neighborhood in the city, in order to tell residents: ‘we’re here for you,’ and explain to them how and when they can contact us” (P27).
Social Services	“Parents of autistic children are not only weak. Some of them are very strong and active… You must be in contact with them, otherwise they will go to the higher-ups” (S6).	“I have a number of [staff] whose job is to visit the elderly community to hear about its needs. They [senior citizens] will not come here, and also will not pick up the phone or write an email” (S20).
Education	“Today through the school’s website parents receive ongoing information about what is going on in each classroom, and they can respond almost in real time” (E13).	“With children of poor families who need more help, we do need to approach them specifically… and more than once do we need to convince the parents to allow their child to participate in the program” (E16).

Table 7. Action investments: responsiveness and community-focused initiatives

Community/Sector	Higher SES: Responsiveness	Lower SES: Community-focused Initiatives
Policing	Following requests to limit the reputational damage for families and the school, chiefs established alternative channels for filing complaints for minor juvenile offences: e.g., allowing principals to call their personal phone (P12); receiving complaints or executing initial investigation at a private zone in the station (P17); sending undercover cop to talk to teachers, parents, and students at school (P28).	“A community policeman invited children from the neighborhood school to plant a vegetable garden in a senior citizens’ home. This is not written in the police roles. But think what enormous investment it is in the relationships with the children as well as with the elderly. Now both the children’s parents and the family members of the elderly, they all talk about it” (P21); Policemen painting the homes of elderly residents (P9); Policemen “adopting” lonely elderly residents (P26); lonely ill residents (P13); or students in 1st grade from disadvantaged sub-groups (P20).
Social Services	Following the request of a high socioeconomic subgroup, which wanted to avoid being tagged as “needy families,’ they were offered the opportunity to participate in a parenting workshop within an alternative treatment setting: through a community theater initiative (S19).	Convincing the Mayor to provide needy families with tickets to cultural events, that are typically out of their reach, and expected to create “a tremendous effect in the entire city” (S5); After realizing that women who had suffered from domestic violence did file complaints at the police station but avoided approaching social services for fear of losing custody of their children, a social services’ head asked the local police chief for permission to allow a social worker to provide these women with explanations about social services at police stations (S11); Starting a mediation center to resolve disputes between community members (S10).
Education	“Over a third of the population [has high socioeconomic status]. They invest money, lots of money… But they want something in return. [They] want this or that specific program” (E24).	A group of teachers and children that once a month visited children with special needs to read them stories (E8); Afternoon school for adults who wish to study: “this is a message to the whole community, that our role is beyond 12 years of schooling. The help I give them today comes back double, many of them come to volunteer in school activities” (E25); School children providing residents who live alone with holiday gifts (E14).