Command, control and co-creation : drivers and barriers faced by professionals co-creating in the Slovenian public sector

Vrbek, Sanja (author), Kuiper, Marlot (author)

The academic contribution to the field is twofold. Firstly, the paper identifies co-creation drivers and barriers from the professionals’ point of view ‒ a largely overlooked perspective in the relevant literature. Secondly, by being placed in the Slovenian administrative context, the paper complements and enriches the debate on co-creation shaped predominantly by the experience of Northern and Western Europe. Purpose: By focusing on the Slovenian public sector, as a traditionally hierarchical administrative context, the paper aims to identify factors that stimulate professionals to implement co-creation in their everyday work, as well as factors that impede their decision and behaviour in this direction. Design/methodology/approach: The paper relies on two Slovenian case studies capturing the experience of professionals from the Ministry of Public Administration and the Municipality of Ljubljana. The key data-gathering methods were qualitative open-ended interviews with ‘lead professionals’ (at managerial positions) and focus groups with professionals who have regular contact with service users/external stakeholders and/or experience with co-creation. Findings: The findings of the paper indicate that professionals implement co-creation even in ‘unfavourable’ hierarchical and centralised settings. A key driver for them to co-create in such a context is strong political support at the highest level. However, a more profound internalisation of co-creation depends on the redefinition of their professional identity, as well as on the (personal or collective/organisational) interest in co-creation. Originality/significance: The paper makes a pioneer step in providing an in-depth look into the drivers and barriers professionals face when implementing co-creation in the Slovenian public sector. As such, it provides valuable input for further comparative analyses of co-creation drivers and barriers faced by professionals across Central and Eastern Europe.

• Language: English
• Keywords: barriers, co-creation, drivers, professionals, Slovenia
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FU - Faculty of Administration
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2022
• Number of pages: Str. 33-55
• Numbering: Vol. 20, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-137143
• UDC: 35:005
• ISSN on article: 2591-2240
• DOI: 10.17573/cepar.2022.1.02
• COBISS.SI-ID: 110065411

Note

Povzetek v slov. na koncu publikacije, str. 168.

• Publication date in RUL: 21.06.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Central European public administration review
• Shortened title: CEPAR
• Publisher: Fakulteta za upravo
• ISSN: 2591-2240
• COBISS.SI-ID: 293849600

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.
• Licensing start date: 31.05.2022

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Upravljanje, nadzor in soustvarjanje : spodbudni dejavniki in ovire za soustvarjanje v slovenskem javnem sektorju

Abstract

Akademski prispevek k znanstvenem področju je dvojen. Prvič, članek opredeljuje spodbudne dejavnike in ovire za soustvarjanje iz vidika javnih uslužbencev, ki je v področni literaturi največkrat spregledan. Drugič, z umestitvijo v slovensko upravno okolje članek dopolnjuje in bogati diskurz o soustvarjanju, ki ga oblikujejo predvsem izkušnje iz severne in zahodne Evrope. Namen: S poudarkom na slovenskem javnem sektorju kot tradicionalno hierarhičnem upravnem okolju članek opredeljuje dejavnike, ki javne uslužbence spodbujajo k soustvarjanju v njihovem vsakdanjem delu, pa tudi tiste, ki njihove odločitve in postopanje v to smer ovirajo. Zasnova/Metodologija/Pristop: Članek predstavlja študijo primerov, ki temeljita na izkušnjah slovenskih javnih uslužbencev, zaposlenih na Ministrstvu za javno upravo in Mestni občini Ljubljana. Podatki so bili zbrani s kvalitativnimi odprtimi intervjuji z zaposlenimi na vodilnih položajih in v okviru fokusne skupine uslužbencev, ki so v rednem stiku z uporabniki storitev in zunanjimi deležniki oz. imajo izkušnje na področju soustvarjanja. Ugotovitve: Ugotovitve kažejo, da se soustvarjanje izvaja tudi v »neugodnih« hierarhičnih in centraliziranih okoljih. Ključen spodbudni dejavnik za soustvarjanje v takih okoljih je vsekakor močna politična podpora na najvišji ravni, vendar je globlja ponotranjenost soustvarjanja odvisna predvsem od redefinicije njihove poklicne identitete, pa tudi od (osebnega ali kolektivnega/organizacijskega) interesa za soustvarjanje. Izvirnost/pomen: Članek ponuja inovativen in poglobljen vpogled v spodbudne dejavnike in ovire pri soustvarjanju v slovenskem javnem sektorju. Kot tak predstavlja dragocen prispevek za nadaljnje primerjalne analize spodbudnih dejavnikov in ovir za soustvarjanje v srednji in vzhodni Evropi.

• Keywords: ovire, soustvarjanje, spodbudni dejavniki, javni uslužbenci, Slovenija

Projects

• Funder: EC - European Commission
• Funding programme: H2020
• Project number: 770591
• Name: Co Production and Co Governance: Strategic Management, Public Value and Co Creation in the Renewal of Public Agencies across Europe
• Acronym: COGOV