CoPro - Co-production of health- and welfare services between local governments and voluntary organizations in Norway and Germany. Potentials and limitations.

• Eimhjellen, Ivar; Loga, Jill Merethe; Jennifer, Eschweiler, & Morten, Frederiksen, (2026). Challenges for Co-production in the Nordic Welfare States. In Andersen, Linda Lundgaard; Enjolras, Bernard; Nieminen, Ari & Vamstad, Johan (Ed.), The Collaborative Turn in the Nordic Welfare States: Critical Perspectives on Co-production in Policies, Civil Society, and Institutional Changes. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 253–276. doi: 10.1007/978-3-032-08001-1_10. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This chapter concerns the potential disadvantages of co-production and the extent to which co-production may challenge the existing Nordic welfare systems. With a historical-institutional perspective, challenges at the system level are discussed from the perspectives of actors in the public sector, non-profit sector and for-profit sector, and their corresponding logics of action. From the international literature, several disadvantages of co-production have been identified, and in the Nordic welfare states specifically, co-production can be seen as contradicting some of the fundamental principles of social citizenship. Without any critical junctures, the institutional logics and structures of the Nordic welfare systems will probably remain on their current paths, shaping co-production as a public management strategy to fit the established structures and practices of welfare development and implementation.

• Lindén, Tord Skogedal & Trætteberg, Håkon Solbu (2025). How to Co-Produce Elderly Care: Volunteer Coordination by Municipalities or Voluntary Organisations? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. doi: 10.1177/08997640251374272. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study increases our understanding of coordination in co-production in elderly care as we explore models of co-production where voluntary organisations recruit and coordinate individual volunteers and where municipalities assume this role. We examine these models of co-production informed by an analytic framework where we combine third-sector and co-production theory. Based on 30 qualitative interviews with public and voluntary sector representatives within elderly care in four Norwegian municipalities, we find that additional resource mobilisation is the primary benefit of municipal coordination. Municipalities that coordinate citizens directly and independently of voluntary organisations consider this to increase the overall number of volunteers. A disadvantage of municipal volunteerism is that it may replace traditional voluntary organisation activity, weakening civil society’s role as critical correctives and providers of special expertise. Policymakers must take such trade-offs into account when choosing co-production models with or without voluntary organisations as coordinating actors.

• Trætteberg, Håkon Solbu & Linden, Tord Skogedal (2025). Civil society in welfare – The roles and potentials of professional nonprofits and voluntary organizations. Journal of Civil Society. doi: 10.1080/17448689.2024.2448172. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  We explore the potential of civil society as an ideological and organizational force in contemporary Norwegian welfare. To guide our analysis, we developed a conceptual framework of civil society’s role in welfare with four key dimensions related to civil society as a service provider, a pioneer, a value guardian and an improver or advocate. We differentiated between nonprofits that rely primarily on paid staff and voluntary organizations dominated by volunteers and asked: What different roles do voluntary organizations and professional nonprofit welfare providers play in today’s Norwegian welfare society? Our empirical strategy consisted of documentary studies and interview data collected from Norwegian municipalities between 2022 and 2023, comparing substance abuse care, in which nonprofit organizations dominate, with elderly care, in which voluntary organizations are more central. We found that Civil Society Organizations played a limited role compared to the state, but could serve as an important vehicle for welfare change when citizens found such change necessary. While professional nonprofit organizations were involved to a greater extent than voluntary organizations in formulating policies, also the latter could have an ideological influence on services.

• Ervik, Rune; Hellang, Øyvind & Linden, Tord Skogedal (2025). Why Do We Need It? Co-Production in Elderly Care According to Local Actors in Norway. Nordic Journal of Social Research. 16(1), p. 1–15. doi: 10.18261/njsr.16.1.1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Introduction: Co-production in Norwegian national political documents and reports is presented as a means to improve welfare state sustainability and cost-effectiveness, restrict public expenditure, and address reduced trust in democracy. We are interested in how this national perspective is understood and implemented at the local level in Norwegian municipalities: Why is co-production necessary, and what is it, according to local actors? Method: Our analysis rests on documents and interviews with main stakeholders within elderly care, including at the municipal political level and in municipal administration and service provision, voluntary organizations, non-profits, as well as user and next-of-kin organizations and councils. We investigate what these actors understand by co-production and explore the reasons they provide for why co-production is necessary. Result: We find greater emphasis on the concept of co-production in municipal documents than in interviews. Co-production is understood as collaboration between voluntary and public actors. Similar to national political documents, reasons given for why co-production is necessary include more quality services, citizen inclusion, budget constraints and scarce resources. Overall, in both documents and interviews, co-production is presented positively and considered necessary. Discussion: In our cases, what is being co-produced is mostly supplementary services, i.e., services that municipalities are not legally obliged to offer citizens. However, there may also be grey zones where the border between public and voluntary activities and responsibilities is not clear cut. Our analysis adds a critical perspective to accounts of co-production by identifying possible challenges associated with voluntary work within elderly care, partly related to grey zones, as well as by identifying the strong, underlying, and unquestioned premise of austerity.

• Trætteberg, Håkon Solbu & Ervik, Rune (2024). Collective co-production of health and care services – a systematic review of research from the United Kingdom, Germany and Norway. Voluntary Sector Review. p. 1–31. doi: 10.1332/20408056Y2024D000000024. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article reviews all published English-language articles concerning collective co-production of welfare services in the United Kingdom, Germany and Norway, which are countries representing different welfare regimes. The review identifies facilitators for collective co-production and inductively identifies four themes that are important for successful collective co-production: (1) the motivation individuals have for engaging in collective co-production, (2) the institutional contextual conditions for co-production, (3) the relational conditions for co-production, and (4) the facilitation of different effects of co-production. No studies have investigated why public sector entities or voluntary sector organisations choose to engage in co-production, and we lack studies that compare sectors with different institutional settings.

• Eimhjellen, Ivar (2023). Uformelle tilleggstenester og fråverande politisk interesserepresentasjon? Frivillige organisasjonar sine relasjonar til kommunar innan helse- og omsorg i Noreg. Tidsskrift for velferdsforskning. 26(4). doi: 10.18261/tfv.26.4.3. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Frivillige organisasjonar er hevda å kunne bidra i velferdsproduksjon på måtar offentlege og kommersielle aktørar ikkje kan. Overordna kan ein skilje mellom bidrag i form av politisk interesserepresentasjon i utviklinga av velferdstenester og i form av sjølve produksjonen av velferdstenester. Med utgangspunkt i manglande kunnskap om utbreiing av dei to ulike typane velferdsbidrag frå frivillige organisasjonar i Noreg drøftar og undersøker eg empirisk i denne artikkelen i kva grad frivillige organisasjonar innan helse- og omsorgsfeltet har relasjonar til kommunar som omhandlar tenesteproduksjon og politisk interessepresentasjon, i kva grad relasjonar er formaliserte og institusjonaliserte, og kven som har definisjonsmakt og styringskontroll i relasjonane. Kvantitative analyser av data frå ei spørjeundersøking blant 465 frivillige helse- og omsorgsorganisasjonar syner her at organisasjonar sine relasjonar til kommunar i relativt stor grad handlar om formell interesserepresentasjon og til ein viss grad om samarbeid om kommunal tenesteyting, men er dominert av mindre institusjonalisert enkeltsakssamarbeid. Det ligg her eit potensial til å betre dra nytte av frivillig sektor sine særbidrag i utviklinga av og i produksjonen av velferdstenester i Noreg. For å få til dette kan ei forbetring av dei grunnleggande rammevilkåra for frivillige organisasjonar innan helse og omsorg vere ein viktig faktor.

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• Eimhjellen, Ivar (2025). Frivillig–kommunalt samarbeid om velferdstenester i Noreg. NORCE Research AS. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Dette er ei samanfatting av kunnskap frå publikasjonar utvikla i NFR-prosjektet: Co-production of health- and welfare services between local governments and voluntary organizations in Norway and Germany. Potentials and limitations.

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• Lindén, Tord Skogedal; Ervik, Rune & Hellang, Øyvind (2025). Utfordringer og gråsoner i eldreomsorgen: Forventningsgap og samskaping. Stat & Styring. 35(4), p. 64–68. doi: 10.18261/stat.35.4.1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Avstanden mellom det innbyggerne forventer, og det kommuner mener de kan levere, ser ut til å være økende. En løsning på dette forventningsgapet som ofte lanseres, er samskaping. Samskaping kommer imidlertid heller ikke uten problem, og utfordringer og gråsoner mellom offentlig og frivillig ansvar som følger med, bør tematiseres mer.

• Trætteberg, Håkon Solbu (2025). Kommuner og frivillighet i samskaping om velferdstjenester. Full text in Research Archive
• Trætteberg, Håkon Solbu (2025). Samarbeid mellom offentlig og frivillig sektor - hva sier forskningen? Full text in Research Archive
• Lindén, Tord Skogedal (2025). Kommunal politikk: Politikk og praksis for frivillig innsats innen helse og omsorg. Full text in Research Archive
• Lindén, Tord Skogedal & Trætteberg, Håkon Solbu (2025). Kommunal frivillighet utfordrer grenser og kan svekke organisasjoner. p. 19–19. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Kommunal frivillighet kan mobilisere personer som ellers ikke ville gjort en frivillig innsats. Samtidig utfordrer den grenser for offentlig ansvar og kan svekke organisasjoner.

• Eimhjellen, Ivar (2025). Kommunalt-frivillig samarbeid på helsefeltet. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Smakebitar frå CoPro-prosjektet

• Eimhjellen, Ivar (2025). Frivillig engasjement i Noreg. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Deskriptiv overskikt og utvikling over tid

• Lindén, Tord Skogedal & Trætteberg, Håkon Solbu (2025). Modellar for samarbeid mellom kommune og frivillig sektor. Full text in Research Archive
• Lindén, Tord Skogedal; Ervik, Rune & Hellang, Øyvind (2025). When coproduction policy meets local field properties in substance abuse and elderly care. Full text in Research Archive
• Hellang, Øyvind; Ervik, Rune & Lindén, Tord Skogedal (2024). Implementing Coproduction policy in drug addiction and elderly care - When national policy meets local field properties. Full text in Research Archive
• Hellang, Øyvind; Ervik, Rune & Lindén, Tord Skogedal (2024). Implementing Coproduction policy in drug addiction and elderly care - When national policy meets local field properties. Full text in Research Archive
• Hellang, Øyvind; Ervik, Rune & Lindén, Tord Skogedal (2024). Implementing Coproduction policy in drug addiction and elderly care - When national policy meets local field properties. Full text in Research Archive
• Trætteberg, Håkon Solbu & Linden, Tord Skogedal (2024). Civil society in Norwegian welfare – the roles and potentials of professional non-profits and voluntary organization. Full text in Research Archive
• Lindén, Tord Skogedal & Trætteberg, Håkon Solbu (2023). How to co-produce elderly care? Volunteer coordination by municipalities or voluntary organizations? Full text in Research Archive
• Ervik, Rune & Linden, Tord Skogedal (2023). Coproduction according to local actors: What is it and why do we need it? Full text in Research Archive
• Lindén, Tord Skogedal & Trætteberg, Håkon Solbu (2023). How to co-produce elderly care? Volunteer coordination by municipalities or voluntary organizations? Full text in Research Archive
• Lindén, Tord Skogedal & Trætteberg, Håkon Solbu (2023). How to co-produce elderly care? Volunteer coordination by municipalities or voluntary organizations? Full text in Research Archive
• Ervik, Rune; Hellang, Øyvind & Lindén, Tord Skogedal (2023). Why do we need it? Coproduction according to local actors in Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Trætteberg, Håkon Solbu & Linden, Tord Skogedal (2023). Civil society in Norwegian welfare – the roles and potentials of professional non-profits and voluntary organization. Full text in Research Archive
• Lindén, Tord Skogedal (2023). Velferdsstaten under ombygging eller nedbygging? Full text in Research Archive
• Lindén, Tord Skogedal (2022). Frivillighet i eldreomsorgen. Villige frivillige eller velferdsgisler? [Radio]. NRK P2. Full text in Research Archive
• Lindén, Tord Skogedal (2022). Fri og villig? Samtale under fylkeskulturkonferansen 2022. [Radio]. Frampå - podkast frå fylkeskommunen i Møre og Romsdal. Full text in Research Archive
• Lindén, Tord Skogedal (2022). PANELDEBATT- Samskaping i praksis mellom frivilligheita og det offentlege. Erfaringar bl.a. med Viking Sky-hendinga. Full text in Research Archive
• Lindén, Tord Skogedal (2022). Frivillighet, eldre og omsorg. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Del av seminarrekken "Folkefest for fremtiden! Kunnskapsbaserte festmøter for et aldringsvennlig samfunn"

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