The innovative capacity of voluntary organisations and the provision of public services: A longitudinal approach

The prior history of voluntary and community organisations (VCOs) as pioneers of public services during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century has lead to reification of the innovativeness of these organisations. Is this reification justified – are VCOs inherently innovative, or is innovation contingent on other factors? This paper reports on a longitudinal study of this capacity conducted over 1994 – 2006. This study finds that the innovative capacity of VCOs is in fact not an inherent capacity but rather is contingent upon the public policy framework that privileges innovation above other activity of VCOs. The implications of this for theory, policy and practice are considered

Unpacking value destruction in the intersection between public and private value

Public services do not always create value. Rather, when poorly organized and/or delivered, they can destroy value and make service users’ lives worse. However, such ‘value destruction’ is presently weakly conceptualized in public management theory. Consequently, this paper is devoted to the empirical examination of value destruction and hence its conceptualization. At the heart of the paper, we recognize the multiplicity of public value and private value objectives in complex public service environments and the dyadic tension between these two value constellations. Drawing upon qualitative data derived from public carbon reduction projects, we establish a conceptual framework. This framework accounts both for the types of value destruction and for the tension between public and private value. Subsequently, the framework disentangles the value destruction concept into four categories: value ignorance, value disproportion, value backlash and value exploitation. Finally, the implications of this new conceptual framework for public management theory and practice are explored

Participation: add-on or core component of public service delivery?

Drawing on a systematic review of the literature, this paper explores the factors which have enabled and/or constrained the transformative potential of public service user participation within the five most influential recent narratives of public service reform. It argues that these narratives have failed either to offer a holistic conceptualisation of such participation in theory or to achieve its enactment in practice for four main reasons: participation is framed as polemic, with limited evidence of efficacy; public service delivery has been conceptualised as a linear process, with participation at its margins; structural changes have been insufficient in embedding participation; and power asymmetries have been reinforced through successive reforms. To combat these long-standing challenges, a value-creation approach is presented, which starts from an assumption of participation as a defining feature of public service delivery and considered how its import can be maximised to create value for individuals and society

Co-experience, co-production and co-governance: an ecosystem approach to the analysis of value creation

This conceptual article explores the interplay between the participation of service users and third sector organisations and the related implications for value creation. It draws on public service logic, which uses value as a lens through which to view public service delivery and presents an ecosystem perspective to understand the interconnectivity and complexity of value creation. To illustrate the conceptual discussion, a contextual case study of the Scottish Social Security Agency and its services is presented. The analysis demonstrates that value creation is enabled and constrained by the congruence of goals among actors, the strategic direction and a participatory approach that combines ‘lived experience’ with expertise. The article adds to theory by understanding value creation from a systemic perspective, emphasising the interplay of participative processes and the wider societal context. For policy and practice, it suggests a change in how value is articulated, promised, created and measured

Co-production and the co-creation of value in public services: a perspective from service management

This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge in Co-Production and Co-Creation: Engaging Citizens in Public Services, on 15 March 2018, available online at: https://www.routledge.com/Co-Production-and-Co-Creation-Engaging-Citizens-in-Public-Services/Brandsen-Verschuere-Steen/p/book/9781138700116. Under embargo until 15 September 2019.This case study illustrates the shifting leadership and control in co-production of preventative services by a voluntary scheme in HFRS (Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Services). More specifically, it demonstrates how citizen co-producers can exercise some control and lead initiatives despite HFRS’s rigid structure and its command and control culture.Final Accepted Versio

Ecophysiological traits of grasses: resolving the effects of photosynthetic pathway and phylogeny

C4 photosynthesis is an important example of convergent evolution in plants, having arisen in eudicots, monocots and diatoms. Comparisons between such diverse groups are confounded by phylogenetic and ecological differences, so that only broad generalisations can be made about the role of C4 photosynthesis in
determining ecophysiological traits. However, 60% of C4 species occur in the grasses (Poaceae) and molecular phylogenetic techniques confirm that there are between 8 and 17 independent origins of C4 photosynthesis in the Poaceae. In a screening experiment, we compared leaf physiology and growth traits across several major
independent C3 & C4 groups within the Poaceae, asking 1) which traits differ consistently between photosynthetic
types and 2) which traits differ consistently between clades within each photosynthetic type