Facilitation

1
Facilitation

• Not being an exclusive provider
• Facilitating services created by others
• Caused by
• Increased demands for more, diverse offerings
• Fragmented interest segments
• Inability to provide for all

2
Facilitation Continuum
Technical Assistance
Brokering
Coproduction
Opportunity Referrals
Least Agency Resources
Most Agency Resources
3
Forms of Facilitation

• Opportunity Referrals
• Provide comprehensive info about opps
• Done via the web now
• Technical Assistance
• Helping community groups w/ provision
• Give advice, help market, design programs, etc.
• ie, Extension Agents
• Brokering Positions
• Linking inds w/ orgs that can meet needs
• Direct referral

4
Coproduction

• Involvement of citizens in production of a public
  service
• Cooperate w/ inds/groups to provide service
• Usually provide facility or equipment
• Moving away from responsible for toward
• Assistance to provide a service
• Magnitude of resources varies greatly
• Different than just volunteering
• They receive benefit from the service output

5
Contracting out vs. Coproduction

• Volunteers motivated by self-help
• Contractors motivated by
• Participants participate in service delivery
• Have more control over service output
• Contractors generally take over control
• All revenues can be reinvested in program
• Contractors take their slice

6
Advantages of Coproduction

• Rebuilding an Ethos
• Empower constituents (Reagan)
• Provides ownership, pride, camaraderie, spirit,
  etc.
• Rebuilding Empathy for Government
• Reduces the distance of govt
• heightened appreciation and more respect
• Cost Reductions
• Amt of service per tax is maximized
• Fewer employees/man hrs. can use raffles, etc.

7
Coproduction Advantages (cont.)

• Enhanced Responsiveness
• Because decisions made closer to the users
• Who knows their needs more than users?
• Use of Citizens Talents
• Every community has people w/ expertise
• Art, gardening, maintenance, etc.
• Enhanced Opportunities to Socialize
• of people seeking social ops growing
• Moving away from cafeteria provisions of service

8
Limitations of Coproduction

• Loss of Political Support
• Elected officials may not like
• Results are less attributable to agency
• Equity Issues
• May exclude those who cant pay
• Wealthier people more likely to assist
• May be run by a clique of community members
• Quality of Service
• Leadership may deteriorate over time

9
Criteria for Using Coproduction

• Are net costs substantially lower?
• Will quality of service be maintained?
• Will provisions be equitable?
• Will it increase the quality of participants
  experiences?

10
Why Would Citizens Participate?

• Desire to replace services
• Often those that were terminated
• Desire to initiate a new service
• Which dept. has no funds for
• Desire to enhance quality of services
• Beyond what agency has capacity to deliver
• Desire to raise for their cause
• Through sweat equity

11
Agencys Investments in Coproduction

• Provision and maintenance of facilities
• In-kind and technical assistance
• Equipment rental
• Low or no-interest loans
• Establishing Grant Programs
• Have orgs apply on a competitive basis