ABSTRACT
Co-production is a specific kind of citizen participation in which citizens take an active and direct role in the delivery of services. Examples of such co-production are patients designing their treatments in collaboration with medical personnel; citizens contributing to public safety through community watches; students working with teachers to design their lessons; or residents engaging in community development projects alongside social workers. As such, it bridges the areas of public management and civil society. This chapter describes the revival of interest in co-production, since the pioneering work of Elinor Ostrom. It sketches attempts to define the term more precisely, by distinguishing between different types of co-production. Finally, it shows how research on co-production has evolved over time and which topics are likely to be on the research agenda in years to come.
