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In most organisations there is resistance to and anxiety about co-production. This is the case even if on the surface the organisation is positive and enthusiastic about co-production. There are many possible ways of understanding co-production. Accounts of co-production often talk about issues such as power imbalances, inequality and how to level the playing field. These discussions are key to comprehending what is going on in co-production. However, this blog seeks to understand resistance to and anxiety about co-production using the concept of group sentience which was developed by Eric Miller and A. K. Rice in 1967.
Organisations have a sentient boundary. Sentience in this context refers to a ‘system or group that demands and receives loyalty from its members’. A boundary defines what is inside and what is outside an organisation or group. Being part of a sentient group within an organisational boundary provides its members with a sense of identity, a feeling of being part of something and some measure of protection from anxiety. Staff will feel group sentience towards their organisation. In a similar way people with lived experience will experience sentience if they are representatives of a user-led or community organisation and/or if they identify as belonging to particular marginalised groups.
In co-production two groups of people with differing sentience come together to work jointly on a task. Including in a task, groups of people who are outside of each others sentient boundaries is problematic. For the staff of an organisation, co-production requires bringing in an out-group. This will inevitably disrupt the organisation’s existing defences against anxiety. The citizens engaged in co-production will also experience anxiety as they breach the organisational boundary and enter a realm whose rituals and norms maybe unfamiliar. Citizens may feel unease about whether they will be accepted by the staff group. They may also fear merger with the other and the consequent loss of individual identity. Furthermore, co-production leads to several dilemmas around role. Not only what roles are members of the public going to take up in the organisation but also how is this going to disrupt existing staff roles.
According to Miller and Rice group sentience is likely to be strongest when sentience and task are aligned and when members share a common understanding about the objective of the group. In co-production members of the public are brought in to work with staff specifically because they have a different perspective. Members of the public and staff may not share a common understanding of the task.
Using the lens of sentience the resistance and anxiety provoked by co-production becomes more comprehensible.
For more on this topic see Miller, E. R. and Rice, A. K. (1967) Systems of organization. The control of task and sentient boundaries. London: Tavistock Publications.