ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book extends Hirschman's concepts 'exit and voice' to the provision of personal social services. It presents the data from the Work Environment and Cooperative Social Services Project on alternative provision of childcare in Sweden in the early 1990s. The book summarizes early reflections about the potential of co-production to contribute to the democratization of the welfare state. It considers some issues related to the co-production of public services and the role of the third sector and examines why citizens become involved in co-production and the role of the cooperative gambit. The book addresses the sustainability of citizen/user participation in the provision of public services and citizen involvement in terms of the nature of the providers and the salience of the service for them or their loved-ones. It examines the synergies between several key post-New Public Management concepts in public sector reforms.
