Report
Teaser, summary, work performed and final results
Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Co-VAL (Understanding value co-creation in public services for transforming European public administrations)
Teaser
The Co-VAL research and innovation action project takes on the challenge to find new ways of integrating the co-creation of value as a way to transform public administration services and processes. The core contribution is the analysis of innovative ways for a) the design of...
Summary
The Co-VAL research and innovation action project takes on the challenge to find new ways of integrating the co-creation of value as a way to transform public administration services and processes. The core contribution is the analysis of innovative ways for a) the design of service models for public administration processes, mainly driven by demand (where service providers and the users of services, such as citizens and organizations, are the key actors), and (b) by bottom-up supply (e.g. through civil servants, front-line workers, or third parties) that promotes the voluntary and active integration of society in the transformative efforts of public administrations. The main goal of Co-VAL is to discover, analyse, and provide policy recommendations for transformative strategies that integrate the co-creation of value in public administration through the introduction of a new paradigm of public service design and delivery. The project accomplishes these objectives by conducting research on the paradigm shift from the traditional top-down model of service design to demand and bottom-up driven models. In the latter model, citizens, civil servants, private and third sector organizations voluntarily participate in the development of transformative innovations that can address changing needs and solve social problems.
Work performed
The Co-VAL project officially started in November 1st, 2017. The first reporting period covers the period from the 1/11/2017 to 31/10/2018. This first reporting period has crystallised the project approach and has demonstrated the initial value of the Co-VAL approach by the initial results of research and policy tasks. Overall, the project managed to achieve the following progress:
• A systematic literature review on public service reform models tool place focused on how the participation of citizens in public service design and delivery was framed. The review identified five influential frameworks of public service reform which were each evaluated in terms of their strengths and limitations in supporting the transformative potential of citizen participation. Situating the analysis in this way allowed the Public Service Logic (PSL) to be presented as a new theoretical framework from which the transformative potential of participation could be better harnessed. The PSL takes a different starting point compared to the previous frameworks of reform, focusing on public services as services rather than manufactured goods. It also centers on value and its various dimensions and defines the respective roles of citizens and public service providers in the co-creation of value. This work, therefore, contributed to understanding the nature and characteristics of value co-creation in public services, its modes of organization and implementation and its potential impacts. In addition, eight case studies collected across seven European countries in the areas of social welfare, care for the elderly and health. This research explored the concept of value, how it is created (and destroyed) during public service design and delivery and who is involved in the processes of value creation. Having evaluated the approaches identified in the systematic literature review and the case studies analysis, we have also carried out two laboratory experiments about value co-creation behaviors.
• Research has been also performed in terms of identified existing studies dealing with the measurement of value co-creation in public services, survey research, and publicly available data. This preparatory work showed that there is very little representative data available for the use of co-creation, suggesting that Co-VAL survey needs to fill in this gap. A draft questionnaire for public sector organizations was compiled and cognitive testing was performed and completed in December 2018.
• A systematic literature review on the topic of digital transformation in the public sector took place. In parallel, the involvement of users/experts in the digital transformation of European public administrations was identified conducting in-depth interviews in seven EU countries. The project also focused on conducting a policy tracing analysis of the current status of digital transformation in seven EU countries.
• The project started to investigate how service design can provide approaches for co-creation in public service contexts, by reviewing the research literature on service design in public services, focusing especially on literature that deals with co-creation with users and citizens. The review has revealed that service design entails promising avenues for co-creation, but also that there is limited empirical research that documents the results and impact of service design processes.
• It was also investigated the scientific literature on living/innovation labs as well as national theoretical, empirical and grey literatures on living labs as a potential co-creation area of public sector transformation. The literature reviews show that living/innovation lab activities constitute promising settings for value co-creation in the public sector. However, there are several limitations in the literature with respect to how living lab activities can be integrated into public services, how they can be institutionalized while still evolving dynamically in relation
Final results
It is too early to gauge the full impact of the work from Co-VAL. Nevertheless, the project aims to contribute to the advancement of existing research, practices and theoretical frameworks in the following ways:
a) Understanding and developing the conceptual framework for value co-creation in public services for transforming European public administrations
b) Establishing a coherent framework for the digital transformation of public administrations
c) Advancing notions and methods of service design for public sector transformation
d) Further developing the concept of living labs and innovation as enablers of value co-creation in public services
e) Further analyzing the nature and mode of Public service Innovation Networks and Public Service Innovation Networks for Social Innovation
Website & more info
More info: http://www.co-val.eu/.