Understanding Co-production as a Policy Tool: Merging Comparative Policy and Management Thinking

One of the central pillars of policy studies linking the field to public management is the study of policy tools. The use of policy tools includes management considerations in their design and implementation, and studies of tool selection and use have benefitted from the insights of public administration theories in the past. One growing area of tool use which has received very little treatment to date and which can benefit from the dual insights of public management and public policy approaches concerns recent trends towards the increased promotion of co-production of many public services, a predominant feature of the New Public Governance (NPG) approach to public management. Using disability and elderly support services in Croatia and Thailand as illustrative cases, this article examines how the concept of co-production, while often referred to as being managerial or procedural in nature from the lens of the field of public management, is thought of and utilized as a substantive tool in the field of policy studies. The article highlights the importance of viewing co-production using an integrated public management and policy lens if studies of co-production are to advance.