Co-production and Inter-organisational Collaboration in the Provision of Public Services: A Critical Discussion

This Chapter offers a critical discussion of the concepts and practices of co-production and inter-organisational collaboration in the provision of public services. After presenting a theoretical backdrop, it describes four main relationships that may occur between co-production and interorganisational collaboration in the provision of public services: co-production as an antecedent of inter-organisational collaboration; interorganisational collaboration as an enabler of co-production; co-production and inter-organisational collaboration as distinct but complementary; co-production and inter-organisational collaboration as alternative strategies. We discuss the implications of these different relationships, and highlight areas for further research on co-production and inter-organisational collaboration and the relationship between the two in practice.