The Public Participation and Co-production Research Group in ENPA is dedicated to scientific research on how individuals, communities, public service organisations and non-governmental organisations work together to create more inclusive, democratic, effective and collaborative governance. The group brings together researchers from multi-disciplinary academic fields such as public administration, political science, sociology, psychology, urban studies, public law and other disciplines as well as practitioners such as citizen engagement officers who share an interest in understanding the ways that the public engages with public decision-making processes, public services and public policies.

At the center of the group’s mission is the recognition that public participation is more than a procedural and formal requirement. It is a fundamental principle of democratic and collaborative governance. Public participation allows people to express their needs and interests, share knowledge, protest against unwelcome changes and advocate for policies that directly improve their lives. Co-production is a more intense form of citizen engagement and may involve co-commissioning, co- design, co-delivery or co-assessment of public services and their outcomes – so not just ‘citizen voice’ but also ‘citizen action’, working with public service organisations.

The group welcomes both conceptual, theoretical and applied research on themes such as:

• normative foundations of participation and co-production;

• design and evaluation of participatory and co-production processes;

• role of digital technologies in broadening or restricting participation and co-production;

• questions of equity, social justice, inclusion, and sustainability; and

• public governance implications.

By addressing these themes, the group contributes to scholarly debates while generating practical knowledge that supports practitioners and policy-makers in and beyond Europe.