PUBLICS, POLICY AND PUBLIC SERVICES

Citizens and clients as co-producers of public services 3 March 2013 Professor John Alford

The fire brigade: who does the work?

Defining co-production

Type of

involvement

Performed by

Government organisation alone

Govt organisation and external party jointly

External party alone

Governance (deciding what to do)

Govt decision Joint decision Private decision

Planning/ design Govt planning or design Joint planning/design Private planning or design

Production (doing it)

Production by govt organisation Co-production

‘Nudged’  production/ self-service

Private production/ self-service

Defining co-production

Co-production by citizens and/or clients is their participation in producing the  public  services  they  ‘consume’. n.b. not the same as participation in decision-making about the

service - not  about  ‘deciding  what  to  do’,  but  rather  about  ‘doing  it’.

can be conscious or unconscious, can include coercion (but typically includes a voluntary element).

Potential external providers/co-producers

Other government organisations: within national, state or local govt (joined-up government).

Other divisions/branches within your government organisation (breaking down silos).

Businesses/voluntary agencies (contractors or partners). Citizens co-producing: volunteers. Clients co-producing: customers, beneficiaries or obligatees (individuals and organisations). Acquaintances/associates/friends/neighbours/relatives/etc of any of

the above.

Roles, not categories

Means of eliciting contributions from external providers

Monetary incentives.

Legal authority/public power (regulation, enforcement, etc).

Convenience (simplicity, information, advice).

Persuasion (publicity, education, etc).

Identification with organisational purposes.

New  Zealand  Treasury’s  task  of  bringing  about  growth in GDP per capita: who does the work?

Identifying the co-producers: ‘backward  mapping’

Clarify mission (in outcome terms).

Draw  ‘causal  map’  (core  process,  then  co-productive contributors)

Identify key points in web to be influenced, and people associated with those points.

Determine how to influence those people (e.g. money, power, persuasion, convenience, etc)

Weigh up impact vs cost of influence methods.

Clarify mission (as outputs) “%  fires  contained  within  X  minutes”

Fire put

out

© John Alford 2012

Draw causal map (1) The core production process

Fire hosed with water

Fire truck speeds to

fire

Despatcher sends fire

truck

000 called House catches fire

Fire put

out

Fire brigade

© John Alford 2012

Draw causal map (2) Co-productive contributions

Fire hosed with water

Fire truck speeds to

fire

Despatcher sends fire

truck

000 called House catches fire

Smoke alarms

installed

Property

owner/

occupant

Neighbour

Fire brigade

Road

authority

Water

corporation Equipment

suppliers

Hydrant maintained

Streets accessible

Truck ready to go

Telecoms functioning

Maintenance

contractors

Fire put

out

© John Alford 2012

Purpose framed in output terms: To put out fires quickly and efficiently.

Purpose framed in outcome terms: To minimise the damage to life, limb and property arising from fires.

© John Alford 2012

Focusing on outcomes

Minimise

damage to

life, limb &

property

Fire service outcomes Further co-productive contributions

Fire put out

Fire hosed with water

Fire truck speeds to

fire

Despatcher sends fire

truck

000 called House catches fire

House less likely to catch fire in first

place

Smoke alarms

installed

Fire occurs but has less impact

on house

Timely evacuation from burning

house

Fire response plan already formulated

House built to resist fire

Fire prevention measures

already present

Neighbour

Fire brigade

Road

authority

Water

corporation Equipment

suppliers

Hydrant maintained

Streets accessible

Truck ready to go

Telecoms functioning

Maintenance

contractors

Building Stds

regulator

Property

owner/

occupant

© John Alford 2012

An exercise: Indigenous child nutrition

Children eat healthy food

Improved child nutrition

Healthy food purchased by parents/carers

Healthy food stocked and

displayed by stores

Food transported

Food grown/ manufactured

Healthy food purchased by parents/carers

Indigenous child nutrition: causal map

Children eat healthy food

Improved child nutrition

Healthy food purchased by parents/carers

Healthy food stocked and

displayed by stores

Food transported

Food grown/ manufactured

Health depts & Indigenous

health services

Food well stored/ protected en route

Freight time/ cost reduced

Freight companies

Carers have enough money

to buy food

Families taught budgeting skills

Income management

Centrelink

Healthy food prepared by

parents/carers

Schools

Doctors & nurses

Children’s  knowledge of healthy eating

Education and support

for new mothers

Increased breast-feeding

Better baseline nutrition from

infancy

Pricing and display of products to encourage purchasing of healthy

food

Store owners/ managers

Adequate storage space and

refrigeration in housing

Indigenous health

services Carers Health

depts

Carers have knowledge of child nutrition and food

storage/ preparation

Housing depts & housing contractors Prioritising stocking

decisions toward healthier options

Whether/when to use co-production Circumstance Examples Use co-production?

Inter-dependency: where our organisation’s  work  is  interdependent with that of external party/parties (i.e. we can’t  do  it  without  their  contribution).

Education. Health care. Programs for the unemployed.

Yes (issue is not whether to use it but how best to use it)

Substitutability: where the task could be done by either our own organisation’s  staff  or  by  external party/parties.

Meals on Wheels Fire-fighting. Friends of the National Park

It depends: should be done when the benefits of doing so outweigh the costs.

Benefits and costs of co-production Type Benefits Costs

Service Better service (effectiveness, responsiveness, quality, etc)

Purchase price or analogous payment.

Relationship Benefits of sociality/collegiality.

Costs of: Deciding what to co-produce. Choosing/recruiting co-producers. Ascertaining whether the work is being

done as expected. Acting to induce good performance.

Strategic Potential agreement on purposes with stakeholders. Risk allocation.

Adverse positioning in stakeholder environment Loss of core competences