‘I know I am not supposed to, but I just want them to feel cozy’

Co-production, which emphasizes the further involvement of citizens in their service provision, has emerged as a pivotal focus within the realm of public management and greatly impacts how professionals are expected to encounter citizens. Regardless of political ambitions or promising institutional frameworks, co-production is always at risk of being a ‘game of pretend’ by professionals given the pre-existing power dynamics in public services (Kirkegaard and Andersen, 2018). Recognizing that ‘it takes two to tango’ (Osborne and Strokosch, 2013), this research delves into the initial steps professionals take in shaping these more collaborative citizen-professional relationships. The study draws on a Danish qualitative case where I shadowed professional frontline workers in three care agencies to gain insight into everyday practice and their encounters with citizens. The observations were complemented by ethnographic interviews and focus groups with professionals. Through interpretive analysis of the practical ways in which citizen-professional interactions were enacted, four different ‘structures of interaction’ were identified (Bartels and Turnbull, 2020). While the concept of co-production intends for citizens to feel needed and valued in welfare service design and implementation, the identified structures of interaction revealed that citizens often were excluded from decision-making processes and active resource contributions to service delivery. Grounded in key concepts of control and care, the study discusses how these different structures of interaction and relational dynamics define distinct roles for professionals, ultimately influencing the outcomes experienced by citizens. For instance, the role of a 'care provider,' centered on kind and caring acts, may inadvertently overlook citizen resources, potentially leading to a passive citizen role and disempowerment. The purpose of the study is to enhance and contribute to a wider understanding of relationships and interactions between professionals and citizens in coproduced public services. The study brings insights into the power professionals hold in deciding how citizens are involved during vital face-to-face interactions, influencing service quality, social inclusion, and citizen empowerment (Verloo, 2023). References: Bartels, K., & Turnbull, N. 2020. Relational public administration: a synthesis and heuristic classification of relational approaches. Public management review, 22(9), 1324-1346. Kirkegaard, S., and D. Andersen. 2018. “Co-production in Community Mental Health Services: Blurred Boundaries or a Game of Pretend?” Sociology of Health and Illness 40 (5): 828–842. doi:10.1111/1467-9566.12722. Osborne, S. P., and K. Strokosch. 2013. “It Takes Two to Tango? Understanding the Co-production of Public Services by Integrating the Services Management and Public Administration Perspectives.” British Journal of Management 24 (S3). doi:10.1111/1467-8551.12010. Verloo, N. 2023. Ignoring people: The micro-politics of misrecognition in participatory governance. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 23996544231182985.