Co-production is part of a much broader shift that is emerging across all the sectors, and most obviously in those fractures between public and private, or between public and voluntary. This has been described by the innovator Robin Murray as the ‘new social economy’. Murray describes this as different from the old model based on production and consumption. Instead it uses “distributed networks to sustain and manage relationships”, blurs the boundary between producers and consumers, emphasises repeated informal interactions such as care and maintenance, and derives from a strong sense of values. Murray argues that the conditions are beginning to emerge that are likely to accelerate this social economy, because of a combination of squeezed resources and growing social pressures from obesity, diabetes, an ageing population and many other problems. He also explains how it requires capital, methods and skills to move forward on any scale. Murray writes about the “extraordinary spirit of innovation” that is emerging behind this new economy, with the “sense of a pressure cooker”, as the new ways forward are held back by sclerotic systems and scarce resources. The same pressure cooker is apparent in the emerging political argument about mutualising the public services, with all three main parties articulating rather different ‘locals’ of local services with users in charge. Murray suggests three directions for change for the social economy as a whole, and these are a useful guide to the next steps for coproduction too.
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 03:46:23 +0000
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