Both the active citizen and the involved civil servant operate within a complex field of often conflicting interests. Research on co-production—the collaboration between citizens and civil servants to deliver public services—shows that these interests arise from the desires, preferences, interests, and ideas of the participating co-producing citizens, the broader public, the involved public organization(s), and the political context.
For the individual civil servant who works directly and actively with a co-production initiative or citizen collective, this translates in daily practice into a variety of dilemmas. Two are outlined below.
Feasibility and inclusivity
The first dilemma is the choice between focusing on feasibility or inclusivity. When a societal challenge is addressed only in close collaboration with a specific group of active citizens, this makes the field of interests more manageable. As a result, the policy or service delivery process becomes more feasible. Often, the issue can be narrowly defined, making it easier to arrive at a workable solution.
However, it raises the question of whether the interests, wishes, and ideas of people who do not actively participate in co-production are adequately represented, and whether the resulting solution serves their interests. Choosing feasibility can come at the cost of inclusivity. Conversely, actively encouraging other groups of citizens to participate can broaden the narrow problem definition into a multi-issue game, suddenly involving multiple problems and potentially jeopardizing feasibility.
The role of the civil servant
The second dilemma concerns the role or attitude that the civil servant assumes. Should civil servants steer, facilitate, or lead? Many citizens feel co-ownership of societal issues, such as the energy transition, and want to contribute collectively. By joining a co-production initiative, they take on or are given responsibility. But can we reasonably expect these citizens to weigh all the competing interests involved?
Through their participation, citizens learn and adapt, often increasingly differing from their original “constituency.” The involved civil servant feels professionally responsible for considering the public interest. The dilemma then is how far the civil servant can influence the consideration of other interests.
'Impossible to remove'
The idea behind co-production and citizen collectives is that citizens progress by taking responsibility themselves while being supported or facilitated by the government. A steering or leading role from the civil servant is often perceived by citizens as obstructive. How far can the civil servant go to ensure that the initiative remains truly citizen-led while still achieving what the civil servant professionally considers desirable and correct?
It is impossible to eliminate these dilemmas. However, greater awareness of their existence can help achieve a better balancing of interests.
C. van Eijk & E. Cuppen, 2022. Coproduceren in een complex belangenspeelveld: dilemma’s voor de gemeentelijke overheidsprofessional. Bestuurskunde, 31 (3): 3-15.