A policy-oriented approach to co-production. The case of homestay accommodation for refugees and asylum seekers

While co-production has become ever more crucial for contemporary public administration, there is no shared understanding on how to identify the co-producers. Drawing on a policy-oriented approach to co-production, this article develops a theoretical framework to identify policy beneficiaries and policy targets by looking at policy goals. Based on this distinction, we shed light on the different role that citizens can play in co-production, i.e., regular producers, clients, volunteers, or citizen producers. To validate this theoretical framework empirically, the article analyses different homestay-accommodation projects for refugees. Our findings will help scholars and practitioners to identify co-producers more accurately.