Policy Press

Co-creation in Public Services for Innovation and Social Justice

Edited by Susan Baines, Rob Wilson, Chris Fox, Inga Narbutaité Aflaki, Andrea Bassi, Heli Aramo-Immonen and Riccardo Prandini

Published

Jun 25, 2024

Page count

208 pages

ISBN

978-1447367161

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Jun 25, 2024

Page count

208 pages

ISBN

978-1447367178

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Jun 25, 2024

Page count

208 pages

ISBN

978-1447367178

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press
Co-creation in Public Services for Innovation and Social Justice

Available Open Access digitally under CC-BY licence.

This book examines the idea and practice of co-creation in public services. Informed by practical action, lived experience and research from 10 countries across Europe, including the UK, it shines new light on the theory and reality of co-creation by conceptualising it in terms of human rights, social justice and social innovation.

Focusing on human dimensions, the book presents real life examples in public services as diverse as social care, health, work activation, housing and criminal justice. It also highlights the ways digital technologies can accelerate or hinder co-creation.

The book confronts a paradox at the heart of co-creation: standardisation and inflexibility in planning and resourcing, or ‘concrete-ness’, counters the ‘elasticity’ required to sustain co-creation in complex contexts.

"This book highlights some of the key issues of co-creation. In particular, it draws attention to the important and difficult question of how to sustain innovation and change." Taco Brandsen, Radboud University

“This book provides an insightful collection of public service co-creation with marginalised populations. It is for anyone interested in learning from successful co-creation as well as unfulfilled promises and challenges.” Juliane Jarke, University of Graz

Susan Baines (1956-2023) was Professor of Social Enterprise at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Rob Wilson is Professor of Digital Economy in the Faculty of Business and Law, Northumbria University.

Chris Fox is Professor of Evaluation and Policy Analysis at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Inga Narbutaité Aflaki is Senior Lecturer in Political Science at Karlstad University.

Andrea Bassi is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Bologna.

Heli Aramo-Immonen is Principal Lecturer in the School of Engineering and Business at Turku University of Applied Sciences.

Riccardo Prandini is Professor of Sociology of Culture and Communication at University of Bologna.

1. Introduction: Co-creation and the ‘Sandcastle’ Problem - Sue Baines, Rob Wilson, Chris Fox, Inga Narbutaite Aflaki, Andrea Bassi, Heli Aramo-Immonen and Riccardo Prandini

2. Understanding Co-creation: Strengths and Capabilities - Chris Fox

3. Co-creation as a Driver of Social Innovation and Public Service Reform? - Andrea Bassi, Inga Aflaki, Heli Aramo-Immonen and Sue Baines

4. Co-creating Capacity? Empowerment and Learning for Front-Line Workers and Organisations - Inga Narbutaité Aflaki and Andrea Bassi

5. Co-creating with Marginalised Young People: Social Media and Social Hackathons - Heli Aramo-Immonen and Hanna Kirjavainen

6. Digital Technology, Stigmatized Citizens, and Unfulfilled Promises - Susan Baines, Jordan Harrison and Natalie Rutter

7. Connecting Citizens and Services through the Power of Storytelling - Hayley Trowbridge

8. Co-governance and Co-management as Preliminary Conditions for Social Justice in Co-creation - Riccardo Prandini and Giulia Ganugi

9. Evaluation and the Evidence Base for Co-creation - Christopher Fox, Andrea Bassi and Sue Baines

10. Living Labs for Innovating Relationships: The CoSMoS Tool - David Jamieson, Mike Martin, Rob Wilson, Florian Sipos and Alex Sakellariou

11. Moving towards Relational Services: The Role of Digital Service Environments and Platforms? - Mike Martin, Rob Wilson and David Jamieson

12. Conclusions: Moving beyond Building Sandcastles…Long Term Sociotechnical Infrastructure for Social Justice - Rob Wilson, Sue Baines, Andrea Bassi, Heli Aramo-Immonen, Riccardo Prandini, Inga Narbutaite Aflaki and Chris Fox.