Winner of Best Book Award for 2011 - Section on Public Administration Research (SPAR) of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA).
'In this controversial but illuminating work, Alford has not only bitten off, but thoroughly chewed over and digested a critically important but widely ignored aspect of public management: the processes that government agencies rely on to engage the clients to whom they deliver services, and on whom they impose obligations.' - Mark Moore, Harvard Kennedy School, author of Creating Public Value
'Co-production has moved to the centre of debates about public service reform, and its importance is bound to rise.... John Alford's book is a masterly survey of the field, fusing history, evidence and analysis. He brings to the fore how fascinating, and difficult, co-production can be.' - Geoff Mulgan, Head of the Young Foundation, former head of Demos and adviser to PM Tony Blair, author of Good and Bad Power