Co-production Efforts Research Articles

The LTAR Grazing Land Common Experiment at the Great Basin.

The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network (LTAR), through its Common Experiment (CE) framework, contrasts prevailing and alternative agricultural practices for efficacy and sustainability within the indicator domains of environment, productivity, economics, and society. Invasive species, wildfire, and climate change are principal threats to Great Basin agroecosystems. Prescribed grazing may be an effective tool for restoring lands degraded by these disturbances. At the Great Basin (GB) LTAR site headquartered in Boise, ID, our contribution to the CE contrasts a prevailing (PRV), cattle grazing practice of fixed moderate stocking and duration with an alternative (ALT), prescribed grazing practice called high-intensity low-frequency (HILF) grazing where stocking and duration are tailored to suppress invasive annual grass competition with native or desirable plant species and thus promote recovery of rangelands degraded by annual grass invasion and recurrent wildfire. Preliminary results indicate cheatgrass density and fuel height have been reduced in ALT-treated paddocks compared to PRV paddocks. Since its inception in 2014, our GB CE has been a research co-production effort among ranchers, public land managers, and researchers. Future directions for this research will center on expanding the experiment to multiple study areas to better address the scope of the annual grass/wildfire problem. We expect this research will lead to effective and sustainable grazing practices for restoring >41 million hectares of degraded rangelands in the Great Basin and other areas of the western United States.

Dreaming of AI: environmental sustainability and the promise of participation

AbstractThere is widespread consensus among policymakers that climate change and digitalisation constitute the most pressing global transformations shaping human life in the 21st century. Seeking to address the challenges arising at this juncture, governments, technologists and scientists alike increasingly herald artificial intelligence (AI) as a vehicle to propel climate change mitigation and adaptation. In this paper, we explore the intersection of digitalisation and climate change by examining the deployment of AI in government-led climate action. Building on participant observations conducted in the context of the “Civic Tech Lab for Green”—a government-funded public interest AI initiative—and eight expert interviews, we investigate how AI shapes the negotiation of environmental sustainability as an issue of public interest. Challenging the prescribed means–end relationship between AI and environmental protection, we argue that the unquestioned investment in AI curtails political imagination and displaces discussion of climate “problems” and possible “solutions” with “technology education”. This line of argumentation is rooted in empirical findings that illuminate three key tensions in current coproduction efforts: “AI talk vs. AI walk”, “civics washing vs. civics involvement” and “public invitation vs. public participation”. Emphasising the importance of re-exploring the innovative state in climate governance, this paper extends academic literature in science and technology studies that examines public participation in climate change adaptation by shedding light on the emergent phenomenon of public interest AI.

Ready, set, co(produce): a co-operative inquiry into co-producing research to explore adolescent health and wellbeing in the Born in Bradford Age of Wonder project

BackgroundCo-production of research with communities and stakeholders is recognised as best practice, but despite this, transparent reporting and reflective accounts on co-producing research is lacking. Born in Bradford Age of Wonder (AoW) is a large longitudinal health research project, following the health trajectories of up to 30,000 young people across the Bradford district; moreover, AoW has been entirely co-produced with teachers, parents, and young people. This paper describes the co-production of the Born in Bradford Age of Wonder (AoW) project and shares general reflections on co-production from peer researchers involved in co-producing AoW.MethodsA co-operative inquiry (CI) approach was used to gather written reflections on co-production from ten peer researchers (one teacher, one parent, eight young people) involved in co-producing the AoW project. Written reflections were collected and rough “themes” were identified using thematic analysis.ResultsFour key ‘themes’ were identified: (1) promoting young people’s voice and views (2) identifying impacts of co-production, (3) fostering a collaborative ethos, and (4) suggested improvements to the co-production work in AoW. Peer researchers’ reflections highlighted how co-production can positively impact research projects such as AoW, whilst also holding broader benefits including giving young people a voice, facilitating their personal development, and fostering a collaborative ethos both within AoW and with partner organisations. Suggested improvements to AoW co-production included supporting greater numbers of young people and researchers to engage in co-production, organising more regular sessions, and establishing clearer communication channels.ConclusionsPeer researchers’ reflections highlight positive impacts of engaging in co-production, both for research projects (including AoW) and for peer researchers’ personal and professional development. That said, continued efforts are needed in AoW to meet young people’s needs and interests, maintain trusting relationships, and foster sustained growth of co-production efforts within and beyond the AoW project. Evaluation of AoW co-production, along with wider partnership building are key to these efforts.

Co-Production for Equitable Governance in Community Climate Adaptation: Neighborhood Resilience in Houston, Texas

<p>As urban areas grapple with the pressing impacts of climate change, fostering community-level resilience becomes imperative. Co-production, emphasizing active stakeholder engagement, offers a pathway to robust, equitable, and inclusive adaptation strategies. This article delves into the co-production processes within neighborhood resilience planning in Houston, Texas, revealing how collaboration between communities, planners, and municipal leaders can address climate vulnerabilities and support disadvantaged groups. Through an empirical analysis of three Houston neighborhoods, the study evaluates co-production’s role in promoting neighborhood-scale adaptive capacity and reshaping power dynamics to advance equity and environmental justice. The results highlight the significance of local institutions and the necessity of municipal commitment to co-production efforts. The study contributes actionable insights on the application of co-production in neighborhood climate adaptation, emphasizing the need for direct municipal engagement to implement transformative spatial projects and rebalance governance frameworks for effective climate action.</p>

Research Co-production Within Humanitarian Health: Reflections on Our Practice

Research co-production is recognized as important for humanitarian health actors, as part of the growing drive towards localizing and decolonizing aid. Despite recognition that co-production is challenging to implement, reflexive accounts of co-production efforts remain limited. In this paper, we critically examine the role of co-production within a multi-partner research collaboration in Lebanon involving multiple academic, civil society and government-affiliated partners based in the UK and in Lebanon. Through interactive reflection sessions and interviews with research team partners, we document how co-production principles were embedded into our project, explore contextual factors influencing the collaboration, identify successes and challenges to co-production and identify future opportunities for research co-production. We find mixed understandings of co-production between team members and siloed efforts to co-produce within our partnership. We identify key challenges to co-production including contextual factors related to Lebanon and COVID-19, institutional power dynamics, budgets, difficulties in engaging service users and availability of stakeholders to co-produce, while mapping examples of successful co-production in our project. Our study emphasizes the importance of ensuring shared understandings of the scope of co-production at the outset of projects and suggest the collaborative analysis processes provide a key opportunity for researchers to embed co-production principles.

Co-production for the integration of migrant human capital into the decent work

During the last few years, the mass exodus of Venezuelan citizens to other countries has turned Venezuela into an emigration country, with Peru receiving the second-highest number of migrants. This article explains the co-production process of integrating Venezuelan migrants and refugees into the host society under decent work conditions. This is a qualitative, cross-sectional explanatory case study covering the second half of 2022. It shows that within the co-production effort, civil society organisations entail a role in creating collective mechanisms and spaces to enable communication and information, helping to identify existing problems and vulnerabilities, and finding alternatives to mitigate them. Additionally, in the process of integrating migrants’ human capital under the decent work condition there is the relevance of migrant-based civil society organisations, due to the fact that they can enhance trust and the quality of the interaction and dialogue with the beneficiary public, identify their specific needs and potential solutions and, therefore, increase the quality and efficiency of the services provided.

Abstract A019: Busting myths in healthcare: Establishment of a bilingual health education platform in a border community

Abstract Introduction: The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) El Paso Health Education and Awareness Team (EP-HEATTM) was established in 2020, focusing on disseminating bilingual (English/Spanish) health education material to the border community. A co-production effort was established with EP-HEAT consisting of TTUHSC El Paso students, faculty, and Promotoras, also known as Community Health Workers. These events allow students to interact directly with the community and serve as healthcare educators to better prepare them for the community-facing aspects of being a physician and developing a professional identity. The goal of this project was to provide an environment where community members, students, Promotoras and healthcare experts work together to identify and dispel myths in healthcare. Methods: The EP-HEAT students and Promotoras work collaboratively with community members to identify myths in healthcare field, including cancer and treatment for the Hispanic population.​ Students then identify experts in the healthcare field who can address the myths. The promotoras invite community members to attend the event and finally, the Myth Busters event occurs in a pseudo-talk-show manner. Students and Promotoras, serve as the hosts, interviewing the expert in the field in a bilingual (English/Spanish format), with the audience being he community members. Results: Community members who attended the Myth Buster events received a survey to obtain demographic data, identify the motivation behind attendance, and evaluate the benefit and effectiveness of the event. Our results showed that 81% of our attendees identified as Hispanic, with 45% older than 46 years old. Discussion: An unanswered question that is pending is whether attending the Myth Buster events enabled community members to seek out additional resources for the identified healthcare topics (such as vaccinations, antibiotics, and Diabetes/healthy living) for example. We also need to determine whether students’ professionalism and networking increased as a result of the events. Citation Format: Sara Mansour, Lorena Fernandez, Jesse Allen, Veeravenkata Garikiparthy, Laura Renovato, Maria Land, Ricardo Belmares, Tanis Hogg, Nathan Holland, Jessica Chacon. Busting myths in healthcare: Establishment of a bilingual health education platform in a border community [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 16th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2023 Sep 29-Oct 2;Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2023;32(12 Suppl):Abstract nr A019.

Solo Dance or Pas de Deux? The Sector Stereotype Matters in Coproduction

This study examines the influence of sector stereotypes on citizens’ willingness to engage in coproduction. We explore the relationships between different sector tags and citizens’ coproduction willingness in the domains of recycling and public safety, using a 2 × 3 experimental design. The findings indicate that citizens show significantly higher coproduction willingness under the government tag compared to the nonprofit tag in recycling but not public safety. In both recycling and public safety, the government–nonprofit nexus significantly enhances individuals’ willingness to engage in coproduction, surpassing the effects of the government or nonprofit tag alone. Furthermore, volunteer experience positively moderates the relationship between the government tag and coproduction willingness while negatively moderating the government–nonprofit nexus and coproduction willingness. Individuals with varying degrees of volunteer experience may perceive coproduction initiatives differently depending on the initiating entity, resulting in differences in willingness to coproduce, possibly due to factors such as role clarity and autonomy. These findings underscore the substantial influence of sector identity on coproduction and highlight the importance of service sector compatibility for effectively mobilizing citizens in coproduction efforts.

Driving Green Job Opportunities in Sustainable Waste Management through Co-Production Strategies: Informal Recycling Workers, Municipalities, and the National Agenda—A Case Study of İzmir

Informal recycling workers (IRWs), including waste pickers (WPs) and waste sorters, are essential constituents of sustainable ecosystems in many cities in the Global South. Despite their valuable contributions to the economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable urban waste recycling, most IRWs work in precarious conditions. This paper examines recent efforts by local municipalities in Izmir to implement co-production design as a new institutional arrangement to generate green jobs for informal workers that provide high and stable incomes, job security, and social recognition. Using qualitative analyses of recent developments in the legal framework and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, this paper identifies the following challenges associated with the current co-production efforts as its main findings: the lack of fiscal and legislative support from the central government; failure to include all IRWs in the co-production schemes; and the potential exclusion of marginalized communities due to the arbitrary requirements of a security clearance, which limit the inclusion of IRWs in co-production efforts.

Co-Production of Research Methods Knowledge in Criminology and Criminal Justice

Co-production is the involvement of citizens in the production of public services. In education, this involves students working with instructors to jointly produce the knowledge that stems from the education process. This paper describes our approach to co-production of knowledge through a semester’s undergraduate courses on research methods in criminology/criminal justice. Our co-production efforts involved: (a) Instructors provided initial instruction on research methods, as well as a description of their research project, which was used to illustrate several course topics during lectures; (b) Students practiced their developing expertise and experiences to produce their own research proposals; and (c) Students contributed to their instructors’ research project through their feedback on research design. We present reflections on how co-production practice inspired teaching and learning of research methods, classroom environment, and the development of our research project. Findings suggest that co-production can be an effective tool for improved learning in research methods.

Exploring the potential of ‘working-making-doing’ with people who have lived experience of the criminal justice system

This book from well-established scholars of the criminal justice system contributes new insights to the developing field of ‘co-production’ with people who have lived experience of incarceration and criminalisation. Co-production efforts can fail to empower participants and disrupt the status quo if not sufficiently clear in method and intention. Using critical theory and Australian case studies, this book gives shape and coherence to co-production efforts and details the affordances, sensitivities and frictions of co-production practice. Despite its detailed account of the relational and institutional risks for practitioners and participants, the result is a manifesto for ‘working-making-doing together’ and the emancipatory potential of ‘looking from below’. This study offers a vital reference point for anyone engaging in this space.

Collective co-production in English public services: the case of voluntary action in primary education

In this article we explore the extent and distribution of collective co-production across the single policy area of primary education in England. While much attention has been paid to the virtue of co-production, often drawing on particular, single, case studies, there is less literature exploring the wider impacts. However, ongoing marketisation, fiscal pressures and increased competition in education have led school leaders to turn to co-production as one mechanism for survival, while recognition of some of the potential benefits has led to a surge in efforts to implement co-productive activities. Focusing on collective co-production efforts, this article explores voluntary income data from more than 300 primary schools and their respective Parent Teacher Associations, supported by 70 questionnaires looking at volunteer contributions, which were completed by headteachers, and ten in-depth interviews with headteachers. Our data reveal three significant findings: the extent of collective co-production in primary education is increasing; this activity is driven by fiscal challenges, resulting in schools feeling coerced into co-production, which has wider implications; and this is resulting in increasing inequalities. We conclude with a discussion about what this means for the wider policy agenda.

The Leadership of Co-Production in Health and Social Care Integration in Scotland: A Qualitative Study

AbstractThe involvement of citizens in the production and creation of public services has become a central tenet for administrations internationally. In Scotland, co-production has underpinned the integration of health and social care via the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014. We report on a qualitative study that examined the experiences and perspectives of local and national leaders in Scotland on undertaking and sustaining co-production in public services. By adopting a meso and macro perspective, we interviewed senior planning officers from eight health and social care partnership areas in Scotland and key actors in national agencies. The findings suggest that an overly complex Scottish governance landscape undermines the sustainability of co-production efforts. As part of a COVID-19 recovery, both the implementation of meaningful co-production and coordinated leadership for health and social care in Scotland need to be addressed, as should the development of evaluation capacities of those working across health and social care boundaries so that co-production can be evaluated and report to inform the future of the integration agenda.

Estrutura e responsividade: a Atenção Primária à Saúde está preparada para o enfrentamento da Covid-19?

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the need for global efforts to grant universal health coverage and access, which imposes management challenges for Primary Health Care (PHC). This study aimed to develop and apply an instrument to assess the PHC Units’ responsiveness to COVID-19, based on co-production efforts between university researchers and PHC technical teams. The instrument composed of two modules, included identification, operating hours, workforce, work process, structure, equipment, furniture, supplies, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), Symptomatic Respiratory Patient (SRP) examinations and follow-up, information, surveillance, integration, communication, and management. All the 165 PHC Units in Brasília were invited to complete the instrument. Main results: there was physical structure adaptation (adequate configuration of waiting rooms, internal and external spaces allowing safe distance); provision of PPE and COVID-19 tests; active search for SRP/COVID-19 suspects by phone, mobile or home visits; monitoring flows of patient transfer and telehealth implementation. In conclusion, the PHC Units reorganized their services to meet the demands of the pandemic context. Providing information about structure and responsiveness of PHC Units may subside health systems for planning and decision-making at different levels of management, which is crucial to determine strategies to empower and reinforce PHC responsivity in situations of pandemics and other calamities.

“When I feel safe, I dare to open up”: immigrant and refugee patients’ experiences with coproducing healthcare

ObjectiveInterest in the coproduction concept in healthcare is increasing. According to coproduction, services are, unlike goods, always coproduced by a user and a service provider. This study explored how immigrants and refugees perceive the coproduction of their healthcare service in clinical encounters. MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with thirteen patients with varied backgrounds and health problems. Participants were purposefully recruited in an interdisciplinary clinic for immigrants and refugees at a Danish University Hospital. Interviews were transcribed, anonymized, and analyzed using meaning condensation. ResultsPatients emphasized the importance of a safe space where they could be themselves and feel supported. This encouraged them to be open and assume an active role in the coproduction of their health. A stable therapeutic alliance based on kindness and kinship helped them find strength and take responsibility for their own health. ConclusionsThis study improves our understanding of how immigrants and refugees experience the coproduction of healthcare services. Further studies, evaluating long-term outcomes of coproduction efforts, are required. Practice implicationsProviding a safe space in which health professionals have time to listen and empathically validate immigrant and refugee patients’ lived realities, can enable patients to open up and become agents of their own health.

Identifying Roles for Public Administrators to Foster Anticipatory Altruism for Severe Weather Preparedness

Will people choose behaviors that benefit all persons in the community before a severe weather event? Or, will they choose behaviors that benefit themselves only? Knowing the answer to these questions can inform public administrators about the level of anticipatory altruism in their community. With this knowledge, they can design strategic plans that leverage a willingness to coproduce community preparedness. Over four hundred people in six severe weather and tornado prone states answered survey questions inviting them to choose between severe weather preparation options that benefit the community or the individual. Overall, our findings suggest a modest level of support for community preparation options, anticipatory altruism demonstrated by a willingness to pay, and intergenerational equity in their choices. These findings are salient in a time when governments may need to cut funding and rely more and more on foundations, nonprofits, and private efforts to provide a wide range of services. Government planners and emergency managers can use our results to strategically nudge residents into making severe weather preparations as well as to estimate support for co-production efforts with citizens to prepare the community for disasters.

Co-production in solid waste management: analyses of emerging cases and implications for circular economy in Nigeria.

Co-production is a paradigm shift from the traditional model of public policymaking and service delivery that advocates for the involvement and participation of end-users of services as co-partaker in the process. In this paper, we examined the emerging models of co-production in solid waste management in Nigeria using a case study methodology. Four cases were purposefully selected for detailed exploration. The results of the analysis show that the involvement of the plurality of the non-state actors in waste management co-production brought in innovation through ICT, financial resources through grants, and increased public awareness. And have also given the service receivers a change of orientation that makes them perceive waste as a source of income rather than all rubbish needed to be discarded. However, possible exploitation of informal waste pickers, unclear business models, and absence of prior arrangement for coming together of both state and non-state actors in designing the service production are challenges to the emerging co-production cases. The current study further shows that the emerging co-production efforts have huge potential in promoting circular economy as it creates a better avenue for the implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR), the establishment of eco-industrial parks, and safe integration of informal waste recyclers.

Consumers on the Job: Contextualization Crafting in Expert Services

Tasked with a greater role in the coproduction of expert services, consumers often face an immense burden in coproducing service and well-being outcomes. While some prior research has explored customer work, we delineate unique aspects of expert services and articulate consumer efforts that transpire outside the dyadic service interaction. Through netnographic inquiry in a health care context, we find that coproduction efforts are job-like and require job crafting efforts. Upon this foundation, three major themes emerged: (1) consumers leverage their context expertise by adapting content expertise to their unique circumstances, (2) consumers develop and deploy strategies (hacks) through affordances in order to manage their coproduction jobs, and (3) consumers move through the expert service journey in a variety of ways that shift them toward or away from well-being outcomes. After assessing the transferability of our results by analyzing a second expert service context (financial services/debt management), we suggest implications for theory, practice, and future research.

Co-producing climate information services with smallholder farmers in the Lower Bengal Delta: How forecast visualization and communication support farmers’ decision-making

Farmers in the Bengal Delta are confronted with increasing hydroclimatic risks due to climate variability and change. The co-production of climate information services that address the farmers' needs could potentially assist farmers with climate-sensitive decision-making and managing their risks. This study aims to investigate how the co-production of climate information services through forecast visualization and communication has improved forecast uptake for climate-sensitive decision-making of smallholder farmers. We applied a farmer field school approach to communicating visual diagrams for 7-day, 14-day, and seasonal forecasts during face-to-face meetings using printed paper, and smartphone applications. Results show that diagram-based forecast visualization and a combined communication approach integrating face-to-face interaction using printed paper and a smartphone app have improved uptake of information services by farmers. Capacity building and frequent interactions at farmer field schools contribute to a better understanding and trust of visual forecasts, interpretation skills, and decision-making capacity of smallholder farmers. We conclude that the co-production effort with farmers combined with the capacity building has resulted in wider sharing, dissemination, and uptake of scientific forecasts for climate-sensitive decision-making by smallholders in the Lower Bengal Delta.

Coproduction Challenges in the Context of Changing Rural Livelihoods

AbstractCoproduction is a process that involves scientists and citizens engaging throughout the production of knowledge, decisions, and/or policies. This approach has been widely applied in an international context for addressing global environmental issues. It is customary for scientists to travel to rural communities, where both scientists and local knowledge holders work together and jointly design solutions to pressing problems. Such collaboration, however, often involves high costs for both residents and scientists, which can reduce project effectiveness. This study examines the challenges associated with coproduction in the context of changing rural livelihoods in beneficiary communities. We specifically conduct a self‐analysis of the coproduction process led by our own university team, where scientists designed tools for water and crop management together with community members in Peru's Caylloma province. We collected qualitative data on the coproduction challenges in five local districts in Caylloma, using focus groups and semi‐structured interviews. Our results indicate that changing socioeconomic conditions in rural communities undermined the long‐term sustainability and effectiveness of the coproduction efforts and deliverables. These included increased migration, market integration, and reliance on regional institutions for water and crop management.