ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case study which illustrates the shifting leadership and control in co-production of preventative services by a voluntary scheme in Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Services (HFRS). More specifically, it demonstrates how citizen co-producers can exercise some control and lead initiatives despite HFRS's rigid structure and its command and control culture. The UK fire and rescue services have become a victim of their own success in achieving their core organizational goals, namely reducing fires. The case of HFRS's pioneering Community Volunteer Scheme (CVS) illustrates leadership in co-production practice, as a long-term budgetary austerity turned a small complementary service into a core service provided and co-produced by volunteers. The CVS has effectively and successfully co-produced a core service and in the process both regular and citizen co-producers have taken leading roles and developed unique understating of the needs of their communities.
