The Persistent Constraints of New Public Management on Sustainable Co-Production between Non-Profit Professionals and Service Users

Caitlin McMullin ()
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Caitlin McMullin: Department of Politics and Society, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark

Administrative Sciences, 2023, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-15

Abstract: In this paper, I explore whether and how New Public Management (NPM) inhibits the long-term sustainability of co-production between non-profit practitioners and service users in the United Kingdom. I show how the key elements of NPM (contracts and competitive tendering, performance measurement, a pressure for non-profits to become more ‘business-like’, and the framing of citizens as ‘customers’) provide distinct barriers for non-profits to engage in co-production over the longer term, inhibiting the long-term creation of value for citizens. Through an analysis of seven case study organisations, this paper contributes to building theory about the sustainability of co-production, the factors that shape enduring co-production, and the compatibility/incompatibility of NPM tools with co-production.

Keywords: co-production; sustainability; non-profit organisations; New Public Management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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