Co-production at the front line: a user reflection on theory and practice

ABSTRACT

The concept of co-production (CP) is a key concept highly developed in the public administration literature reflecting the end stage of policy implementation. It is explored through a personal account of struggle and challenges through my two-year experience as a stroke survivor. The paper provides a very personal account of CP and by so doing I hope to shed additional light on the value of CP as a theory with a rich literature and as a valuable construct for practitioners and future public administrator and policy analysts.

KEYWORDS:

• Implementation
• stroke
• co-production

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

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Jeffrey D. Straussman

Jeffrey D. Straussman is Professor of Public Administration and Policy, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy. Previously he was Professor and Vice Dean (Executive Education) at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore from 2011 to 2013. He was Dean, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York from 2006 to 2011. He was previously a member of the faculty of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. He was Associate Dean and Chair of the Department of Public Administration from 2000 to 2006. His areas of expertise include public management and leadership, public expenditure management and administrative reform in developing and transitional countries. In 1992 he was a Fulbright Scholar at the Budapest University of Economic Sciences (now called Corvinus University) where he taught public management and policy analysis and assisted Hungarian faculty in the development of a public affairs department. He has lectured and consulted internationally on subjects including managing for performance, leadership, public budgeting, and public affairs education. He has conducted workshops and executive education programs in the areas of strategy, leadership and public management for mid-level and senior government officials in Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Israel, Venezuela, Italy, Czech Republic, China, Bulgaria, Brazil, Portugal, Russia, Jordan, Lebanon, Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Malaysia, India, and Vietnam.

Straussman has published widely in the areas of public finance and budgeting and administrative reform in transitional countries. His work appears in a variety of professional journals such as Public Budgeting & Finance, Administration & Society, Governance, Public Administration and Development, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, and Public Administration Review. His books include The Limits of Technocratic Politics (Transaction Publishers, 1978), Public Management Strategies (Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 1990) and Public Administration, 2^nd edition (Longman Publishers Group, 1990). His interest in the political economy of transition has produced several publications including articles translated into Hungarian, Russian, and Ukrainian.

Straussman received his B.A. in political science from Hofstra University, an M.A. in political science from Hunter College, and his Ph.D. in political science from the Graduate Center, City University of New York. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.