Administrative Sciences, the peer-reviewed, open access journal on organization studies, will run a special issue on “Long-term Sustainability of Co-Creation and Co-production”. The special issue is guest-edited by two inGOV project team members – Trui Steen (KU Leuven) and Noella Edelmann (University for Continuing Education Krems) – together with Taco Brandsen (Radboud University) and Bram Verschuere (Ghent University).

Co-creation and co-production refer to citizens being involved as co-designers and co-implementers of public services, alongside ‘regular’ service providers (i.e., government professionals). In this special issue, we address the questions of whether and how co-creation and co-production initiatives can be scaled up and sustained over time so as to create long term collaboration between professionalized service providers in public agencies and citizens. Contributions for this special issue should address issues of sustainability of co-creation and co-production, including, but not limited to:

• Organisational and procedural conditions for sustaining and scaling up co-creation and co-production initiatives: What impact does sustainability have on the design of public services? Is sustainability an issue of organisational design to be addressed already at the onset of a collaboration between professionalized public service providers and citizens? Are supportive legislative frameworks and structural allocation of resources necessary to support the continuation of co-production initiatives? What are thresholds for sustaining co-creation and co-production over time?
• Engagement of professionals and citizen co-producers: How much does sustaining co-creation and co-production over time depend on mutual commitment by and empowerment of professionals and citizen co-producers? What incentives are needed to induce long-term engagement and motivation of both professionals and citizen co-producers?
• Digital enabled co-creation and co-production: Can new technologies help sustain and scale up co-creation and co-production initiatives? How does the combination of digital tools with face-to-face communication work in setting up long-term participation? What challenges arise from the use of digital tools in co-creation and co-production initiatives? What factors contribute to sustainable digital co-creation?
• What is the legitimacy of co-creation and co-production practices as an integral and continuous part of the functioning of (local) democracy in the perspective of different actors, including political actors, public service professionals, and engaged citizens, as well as the wider public? What promises do co-creation and co-production hold for the future, including narrowing the gap between government and citizens? How sustainable are co-creation and co-production in different policy fields?

More information can be found at:

www.mdpi.com/journal/admsci/special_issues/public_service

Deadline for submission of full papers for the Special Issue is December 31st, 2022.