From the efficient use of existing resources to the mobilization of new ones

Abstract

This chapter explores the shift from the orthodox public governance focus on the efficient exploitation of the existing resources to a new focus on the mobilization of additional resources through co-production and co-creation. It begins with the story of how the public sector expanded in the postwar era, was hit by a growing number of fiscal problems that undermined its legitimacy, and subsequently aimed to escape the fiscal squeeze between growing expectations to service production and the limited public resources by focusing on the three E’s: economy, efficiency and effectiveness. It then introduces and defines the co-production and co-creation concepts and shows how these new collaborative forms of governance may help to mobilize resources and make ends meet in the public sector. Co-production and co-creation are parts of a new form of generative governance aimed at turning the public sector into a platform for bringing together relevant and affected actors in collaborative processes that aim to foster innovative public value outcomes. The conclusion discusses the conditions for transforming the public sector into a platform for co-creation and for enhancing the use of co-production and co-creation.