Co-production and Public-Private Partnerships in New England Direct Democracy

• In Event: Innovations and Theories for Public Engagement

Abstract

This study investigates the nature of co-production in a community with limited government, the rural New England town of Kensington, New Hampshire. Citizens have been active co-designers of public services since the town’s founding in 1737, with some institutions such as the town meeting (a form of direct democracy) and public private partnerships continuing today. Career bureaucrats are few, with most government officials being elected or serving as volunteers on the various committees in town. The town provides minimal services, and some of its largest services (fire, library, town park) are public private partnerships with community-based organizations that place citizens at the helm of decisions. These and other examples demonstrate that Kensington has unintentionally coproduced its services for centuries. Representation in these processes and the outcomes are imperfect, yet the town’s methods create flexibility and a “public energy” that generates meaningful services that otherwise might not be offered. Kensington’s co-production is sustainable in its longevity but has arisen in many different forms and has faced challenges over time. This study analyzes Kensington’s public private agreements, institutional policies, the citizen led town meeting policymaking process, utilizes resident opinion data collected in 2021, and works closely with community leaders. It finds that limited government produces imperfect yet flexible co-production of services out of necessity. It argues that for successful co-production, local democratic governments must institutionalize substantial power sharing with its citizenry and act as a retainer of knowledge, advocate for targeted engagement, and a coordinator of communication.

Author

• Sawyer Rogers, University of Massachusetts: Amherst