Governance, co-production and vulnerability

Abstract:

Since the 1990s, Western countries have moved away from a more classic understanding of government (hierarchical, top-down politics) to governance (cooperative, bottom-up politics), i.e., a prioritisation of the involvement of citizens as co-producers. This development is currently under researched especially in relation to vulnerable citizens and power processes. For this reason, present study will conduct a qualitative investigation of how bottom-up politics (co-production, empowerment etc.) in combination with other structural factors (economy, bureaucratic principles, market values etc.) affect the encounter between a vulnerable group such as homeless people and staff at three homeless shelters. The reason for focusing on homeless reflects our desire to study individuals who are affected by this strengthened co-production strategy in a profound way: that is, citizens who are not always able to voice their situation and -according to staff -make appropriate choices in their lives.