Finding a more perfect union within the science and management co-production process

A depiction of the co-production process. The outside of the wheel are generic phases of the research cycle, the middle wheel highlights the specific phases for co-producing, and the inside wheel is the level of manager/partner involvement in the science-agenda process.

Co-production is seen as an approach to ensure that sound science and on-the-ground management needs are harmoniously married in some context (e.g., research project, planning strategy), but co-production requires a high level of involvement and interaction among those involved. Based on our experience co-producing a 10-year science agenda, we help researchers and managers weigh the costs and benefits of co-production prior to diving into the very time and resource intensive process.  

This project is unique as it contributes to the limited amount of co-production research focused on science planning, while also taking a hard look at both the costs and benefits of the co-production process. 

Rather than maximizing partner involvement in coproduction at all stages of the research process, we emphasize designing collaborative processes that enhance partner buy-in and research relevance and impact while acknowledging resource constraints. Because researchers recognized that excessive involvement could create undue burdens, leading to collaboration fatigue and logistical challenges. Non-researchers were engaged most heavily during research interpretation, and the dissemination and application phases.