Co-Creation: Expectations, Challenges and Coping Strategies in Norwegian Local Governments

Prosjektet har studert «samskaping», som er en bestemt type interaksjon mellom offentlige, private og sivile aktører. Formålet med samskaping er å mobilisere ressurser og ideer fra borgere og andre relevante interessenter for å skape «offentlig verdi», f.eks. løse aktuelle kollektive problemer eller forbedre offentlig tjenesteproduksjon. Gjennom dette forskningsprosjektet har vi analysert spredningen av begrepet «samskaping» i norske kommuner, og vi har undersøkt hvordan begrepet forstås og hvilke forventninger aktører har til «samskaping». En viktig del av prosjektet handlet om å kartlegge hvordan «samskaping» utfordrer og kanskje til og med kolliderer med etablerte styringsroller, organisasjonsstrukturer, ledelses-praksiser og demokratiformer i norske kommuner, og hvordan kommuner og deres politikere og ansatte håndterer disse utfordringene. I sluttboken fra prosjektet (Advancing co-creation in local governance - Edward Elgar Publishing) er slike coping-strategier viet stor plass. Basert på 9 norske eksempler på samskaping, som spenner fra barnevern via eldreomsorg til klimapolitkk, viser vi hvordan samskaping kommer praktisk til uttrykk, og hvordan aktører kombinerer ulike elementer gjennom former for konstruktiv hybridisering.

Empirical studies from various national contexts have demonstrated that co-creation can contribute to solving complex problems, enhancing service quality, and bolstering democratic legitimacy. However, we need a deeper understanding of how this innovative governance paradigm is translated and integrated into the Norwegian governance system, and how emerging dilemmas and conflicts are managed. While the mobilization of societal resources in public governance has deep historical roots in Norway, the Norwegian public sector has adopted a distinct path post-1945. This path emphasizes classical public administration (PA) combined with elements of neo-liberalism (NPM). This research project has systematically investigated the implications of co-creation for modern Norwegian local governments, analyzing the emergent challenges and relevant coping strategies that a shift towards co-creation has incited. The empirical material used in this study is threefold. First, a national mapping based on documents and public sector websites, supplemented with interviews of key actors, revealed how the concept of "co-creation" has permeated the Norwegian public sector. Second, our research team selected three policy sectors for in-depth study: Child Welfare and Protection, Elderly Care, and Climate Policy. Political and administrative leaders in three Norwegian municipalities were interviewed regarding their understanding and expectations of co-creation within their respective policy sectors. Finally, nine practical examples of co-creation were selected for closer analysis. These cases were spread across the aforementioned municipalities (three in each) and policy sectors (three in each). Throughout the project period, the research team has published articles focusing on topics such as the translation process of a "magic concept" like co-creation, or the adoption of co-creation into various policy contexts. However, the primary takeaway from this project pertains to the concept of constructive hybridization. Theoretically, co-creation is a radical and challenging idea. Due to legal constraints, faith in professional knowledge, and well-established governance and management traditions that do not align with co-creation, few are willing or able to implement co-creation in its purest form. Nevertheless, the idea of co-creation serves as a significant catalyst for change and innovation, as actors creatively combine different elements by constructive hybridization.

The aim of this research project is to understand what lies behind the growing interest in co-creation. The project will look at how and why the notion of co-creation emerges in national policy strategies, how it is translated into and between local governance practices, and how its local adoption is accompanied by a particular set of expectations to what co-creation can achieve. The project is particularly interested in how co-creation challenges, and perhaps even clashes with, established forms of local government, and how local public managers aim to cope with challenges, conflicts and dilemmas that emerge when co-creation is introduced in a context characterized by representative democracy, bureaucratic administration and newly added elements of performance management and market governance. The burning question is how a pragmatic use of local coping strategies enable local governments to harvest the merits and mitigate the problems of a new synthesis between existing and emerging forms of governance. The research methods applied consist of different qualitative techniques suited to answer the three research questions, focusing on expectations, challenges and coping strategies, respectively. Document studies in terms of analyses of national and local policies and reform strategies and public statements from public officials will contribute to answering what public sector actors understand by co-creation. A number of case studies of selected Norwegian municipalities is well suited for answering research question 2 and 3, focusing on challenges and coping strategies. Hence, a mapping of role dilemmas, coping strategies and efforts to adjust the institutional design of local government calls for in depth studies of processes and events.