Submitted by: Mark Jason E.

Arca

For the purpose of this paper, three (3) articles that focus on the concept of co-construction were
reviewed. All of the articles are concerned with service-oriented organizations (e.g. government and
hospitals) and as such, the quality of services and policies are the main concerns. This is rather
important to acknowledge since it further drives the notion of these two (improved service delivery
and better policies), along with serving the public, being the organization’s goals. In this short
literature review, a few major themes may be observed.

Organization learning through the process of co-construction is one of the few major themes
observed in the articles. The article of Collins & Ison (2009) illustrates how social learning is
achieved through co-construction and how such process (interaction and convergence of knowledge
from different stakeholders) can address certain policy issues. Given that the participants will most
likely be those with similar advocacies, organizations can gain wider insights on a subject matter
through this experience. The article also highlights concerted action as one of the benefits of co-
construction. Empowering and enabling those outside of the organization to partake in the process of
addressing an issue inevitably leads to concerted action – which tends to be an holistic approach in
coming up with solutions to particular issues. Through co-construction, stakeholders can influence
organization direction, determine whether goals are being met, and recommend policy action towards
an issue. As it was highlighted in the article of Brooks & Harris (2008), one of the possible entry
points for co-construction is the creation of joint steering groups wherein stakeholders are provided
an avenue to, in a way, review the plans of an organization. Innovation is also among the major
theme observed in the literature review. Bason’s (2013) article offers different cases where
innovation was sourced through the process of co-construction (whether from the direct participation
of stakeholders or through sourcing inputs from them to improve processes). The article highlights
the notion that, ultimately, the stakeholders know themselves the best. By acknowledging such
premise (through the process of co-creation) and adjusting the organization around the stakeholders’
experiences, organizations may obtain innovative means of rendering their services.

In relating these articles to the planning process, co-construction can help improve the planning
process by providing new insights and perspectives. Given that the actors in a given context, while
sharing similar advocacies, have varying value sets. These variations, as illustrated in most of the
cases found in the articles, may become sources of innovation for an organization. These may also
serve as a means to identify matters that are of high value to an organization’s stakeholders. By
gaining these insights and perspectives, and through the creation of new information streams,
organizations will have a wider set of available information for them during the planning process.

While co-construction brings certain benefits to an organization, it may also come with certain
disadvantages. Planning and control is, in a way, a formal process. Bringing in entities with different
values sets may introduce managerial challenges especially in the control side as such may require a
different control mechanism to ensure that organization goals are shared by these entities. Another
probable source of issue is the introduction of new streams in the information system. Control
systems tend to be systematic in its approach. Input and information flows play and important part in
a good control system. With the introduction of new sources of inputs and information, control
managers must be able to make sense out of it and figure out how these new sources relate to the
current system in place. Failing to do so may lead to managerial obstacles and, inevitably, poor
performance of the control system. Nevertheless, if the process of co-construction is done right, there
are numerous opportunities for organizations to reap benefits out from it.
Submitted by: Mark Jason E. Arca

Works Cited

Bason, C. (2013). Engaging Citizens in Policy Innovation: Benefiting public policy from the design
inputs of citizens and stakeholders as ‘experts’. In Putting Citizens First. ANU Press.

Brooks, R., & Harris, G. (2008). Citizen Participation, NEPA, and Land-Use Planning in Northern
New York, USA. Environmental Practice, 10(4), 140-151.

Collins, K., & Ison, R. (2009, November/ December). Dare we jump off Arnstein's ladder? Social
learning as a new policy paradigm. Special Issue: Living with Environmental Change: Adaptation as
Social Learning, 19(6), 358-373.