Coproduction during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic: Will It Last?

Public Adm Rev. 2020 Sep-Oct;80(5):851-855. doi: 10.1111/puar.13258. Epub 2020 Aug 7.

Abstract

Coproduction is flourishing under COVID‐19, but can we expect it to last? Most likely, in post‐COVID‐19 times, people and institutions will easily slip back into business as usual. This essay addresses the relevance of coproduction under COVID‐19 and argues for the need for coproduction initiatives to persist well beyond the pandemic. The conditions that made coproduction emerge are likely to change as emergency regulations and funds are abandoned and the sense of urgency disappears. Areas of public life where there could be a more lasting effect are those where the basic conditions for successful coproduction are already in place and only a push was necessary for coproduction to take off. These conditions include basic commitment, complementarity, and supportive regulative frameworks, all of which can be sustained beyond the crisis with targeted choices and sufficient support.