Challenging the necessity of New Public Governance: Co‐production by third sector organizations under different models of public management
| Published date | 01 March 2021 |
| Author | Caitlin McMullin |
| Date | 01 March 2021 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12672 |
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Challenging the necessity of New Public
Governance: Co-production by third sector
organizations under different models of public
management
Caitlin McMullin
Department of Political Science, Concordia
University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Correspondence
Caitlin McMullin, Department of Political
Science, S-H 1225-42, Henry F Hall Building,
Concordia University, 1455 De Maisonneuve
Blvd W, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G
1M8.
Email: caitlin.mcmullin@concordia.ca
Funding information
Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on
Montreal; and the Association International
des Études Québécoises.
Abstract
In this article, I answer two research questions: How do dif-
ferent models of public management define relationships
between the state and the third sector? And how do these
relationships influence how third sector professionals
involve citizens in co-production? I consider evidence from
non-profits in France, England and Quebec to illustrate how
three varying models of public management (neo-Weberian
state in France, New Public Management in England, and
New Public Governance in Quebec) structure the relation-
ships between government and the third sector (based,
respectively, on hierarchy and control, contracting and per-
formance management, and partnership) and how these in
turn impact non-profits' co-production activities with citi-
zens. The article challenges the thesis that co-production is
most compatible with the model of NPG, demonstrating the
variety of co-production activities that occur in all three
contexts and providing new insights into the contextual
contingency of the barriers and enablers to co-production
between third sector professionals and citizens.
Résumé
Deux questions sont abordées dans cet article : comment les
modèles de management public définissent-ils les relations
entre l'État et le tiers secteur? Et comment ces relations
[Correction added on 22 February 2021 after first online publication: A French abstract has been added in this version.]
Received: 15 August 2019 Revised: 2 February 2020 Accepted: 27 April 2020
DOI: 10.1111/padm.12672
Public Admin. 2021;99:5–22. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/padm © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 5
influencent-elles la manière dont les professionnels du tiers
secteur impliquent les citoyens dans la coproduction des ser-
vices? J'examine trois modèles de gestion publique (État néo-
wébérien en France, nouveau management publique en
Angleterre et nouvelle gouvernance publique au Québec)
d'organismes à but non lucratif (OBNLs) afin de comprendre
comment les relations entre les gouvernements et le tiers
secteur (fondé sur la hiérarchie et le contrôle, les contrats et
la gestion des performances, et le partenariat) sont
structurées et comment ces relations influencent les activités
de coproduction entre les OBNLs et les citoyens. L'article
questionne la thèse que la coproduction s'aligne davantage
avec le modèle de NGP. Je démontre la variété des activités
de coproduction dans les trois contextes et offre de nouvelles
pistes de réflexion sur la contingence contextuelle des bar-
rières et des moteurs de la coproduction entre professionnels
du tiers secteur et citoyens.
1|INTRODUCTION
The notion of co-production, or the collaboration of professionals and service users in the design and delivery of
public services, is often situated in the literature in tandem with theories about an evolution from traditional public
administration, through New Public Management (NPM) towards models such as New Public Governance (NPG),
where networks, third sector organizations and citizens play an increasing role in public service delivery
(Osborne 2006). Proponents of NPG argue that under NPM, service users' role is diminished as customers and third
sector organizations must take part in a competitive marketplace to obtain contracts to deliver public services, while
NPG shifts the emphasis to collaboration, which better moderates a more democratic relationship with the third sec-
tor and facilitates citizens' roles as co-producers.
However, this representation of a unidirectional move from traditional public administration through NPM and
to NPG ignores some crucial differences between the administrative traditions and dominant public management
models of different countries. Indeed, there is evidence that NPM has not taken hold to the same extent outside of
the Anglo-Saxon countries, and that other models of reform have been more influential in reorganizing the relation-
ships between the state and civil society (Cole and Jones 2005; Ongaro 2010). Understanding co-production as most
compatible with one model of public management calls into question the role of the third sector and citizen co-
production under other regimes, such as the neo-Weberian state, which has characterized countries with more
state-centric administrative traditions (Ongaro 2009), as well as those where NPM still dominates.
In this article, I set out two key research questions: In what way do different models of public management
define the relationships between the state and third sector? And how do these relationships influence how third sec-
tor professionals involve citizens in co-producing public services? I challenge the argument that co-production and a
shift to NPG necessarily go hand in hand, by investigating the involvement of citizens in third sector service delivery
in three contexts that best represent ideal-types of public management models—England, which is frequently posited
as a forerunner of NPM; France, representing the neo-Weberian state; and the Canadian province of Quebec, which
has long pursued a model of policy-making that most closely adheres to the ideals of NPG.
6MCMULLIN
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