Co-production & Democratisation of Public Services - SPY00153M

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Module summary

Enabling citizens to influence policy decisions around public services and ensuring that the actual delivery of services meets the demands of users appear as important objectives in a democratic society. This module explores the different facets of public service democratisation, including its benefits, obstacles and problems.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Online Teaching Period 5 2023-24

Module aims

This module provides students with an understanding of the different venues and modes of decision-making around public services, and explores the role of service users and citizens in shaping public services. Students will explore the relevance of co-production, user involvement and democratic professionalism, and analyse the links between public services, social needs and democratic politics.

To explore these issues, the module differentiates between three levels: First, the conditions under which national policy-making regarding public service funding and delivery operates; secondly, the impact of organisational parameters on public service professionals and on opportunities for the direct involvement of service users; thirdly, the degree to which public services respond to individual and wider social needs.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students should be able to:

• define ‘public services’ and discuss their political, social and economic relevance.

• analyse the political conditions that determine the funding, modes of delivery, and priorities of public services.

• understand how service users, citizens and public service professionals can be involved in decision-making; as well as evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these forms of involvement.

• critically apply the concepts of co-production, user involvement, democratic professionalism, and democratic politics to the topic of public services.

• situate the question of public service democratisation in the wider context of contemporary challenges around democratic legitimacy.

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

None

Module feedback

Feedback on summative assessments will be provided within 20 working days, consisting of written comments and a marking matrix.

Indicative reading

Griffiths, S., Kippin, H., Stoker, G. (2013). Public Services. A New Reform Agenda. Bloomsbury. 

Lethbridge, J. (2019). Democratic professionalism in public services. Policy Press.