Voluntary-Public Sector Collaboration and Co-production in Norway from a Municipal Perspective: Variations According to Fields of Responsibility

By analysing survey data from Norwegian municipalities, Eimhjellen has investigated traits, scope and variations in voluntary-municipal collaboration in welfare production, and specifically how policy attention is connected to collaborative practices. Furthermore, he has examined how the current state of voluntary-municipal collaboration matches the concept of co-production. The results indicate that voluntary-government collaboration is extensive in Norway, especially within ‘Culture, leisure and sports’, as well as within ‘Childhood, youth and school’, ‘Health, care and elderly’ and ‘Diversity and integration’. Formalized policies for the voluntary sector also seem to be related to increased levels of such collaboration. The results indicate that many collaborative relations involve the basic characteristics of co-production, and Eimhjellen argues that such collaboration within welfare production has existed for many years in Norway.