Involving marginalized citizens in co-production

Focusing on an empowerment understanding of co-production, this paper examines the factors that strengthen and impede cooperation between street level bureaucrats and citizens/civil society organizations based in socially deprived neighborhoods. The analysis is based on a qualitative case study of co-production between municipal actors in a Danish provincial town and a Danish-Somali women’s association with the aim of preventing crime among Danish-Somali youth. By applying the concepts of bonding and linking social capital and the inherent notions of trust and reciprocity, the analysis shows the importance of investing the resources necessary to build up the capacity of the citizens and that the co-production partners continuously recognize their shared goals and different capabilities in order to sustain trust and make co-production succeed. Moreover, the analysis points to the working conditions of the street level bureaucrats as an important factor in strengthening or impeding co-production with marginalized citizens.