Co-production refers to a reciprocal process of exchange between diverse stakeholders, in order to generate outcomes that are only possible because of this deliberate intersection of difference. Whilst the concept of co-production appeals within and for futures studies, foresight and anticipatory politics, its conceptual messiness has been widely critiqued. Drawing upon an integrative literature review of co-production and concept formation in the social sciences, the authors identify three approaches that scholars of co-production have sought to mobilise in order to address this critique. Each approach offers a different perspective on what makes a ‘good’ social scientific concept: clarification, elucidation and provocation. Their analysis illuminates the value of holding different approaches to conceptualisation in tension, as a means of developing a richer and more contingent understanding of co-production to future studies’ debates. In doing so, they open up new conceptual imaginaries for co-production and its prefigurative value within futures studies, offering more pluralistic ways of knowing in a context of radical uncertainty.
Highlights
- Co-production’s value to future studies depends on its conceptual ‘goodness’.
- There are different approaches to assessing if co-production is a ‘good’ concept.
- We identify three distinct approaches: clarification, elucidation and provocation.
- Each differs in assessing the conceptual meaning, purpose and value of co-production
- We show there is value in more pluralistic ways of conceptualising co-production.
This is part of the Co-producing Urbanisms theme.