Social Inequality and Co-Production in Dordrecht

Social inequality is persistent in contemporary societies. High levels of social inequality lead to dissatisfied citizens. Dissatisfied citizens lead to demonstrations, revolts, or even coupes against the current governance systems. Therefore, it is necessary that the current governance system reforms in a way that reduces social inequality. The answer to this problem could lie with co-production. To investigate the plausibility of this solution, this thesis answers the following research question: What is the influence of citizens’ perceptions of their social inequality level on citizens’ willingness to co-produce in the municipality of Dordrecht? To answer this research question, relevant variables are identified. These variables are Subjective Social Status (SSS), Sense of Community, Presence of Co-Production Motivators, and Willingness to Co-Produce. Next, a survey is conducted among residents of the municipality of Dordrecht. After this, statistical analyses are run to assess the relationships between the relevant variables. The results of these analyses show that the higher someone’s perception of their standing in the social hierarchy, the higher their willingness to co-produce. Moreover, this relationship is strengthened by a high sense of community. Yet, the presence of co-production motivators does not significantly influence this relationship. Based on this conclusion, it is recommended that making co-production more inclusive should be treated as a priority on the governance agenda of the municipality of Dordrecht. The municipality should do more research on citizen characteristics like social inequality levels and take this information into account when designing co-production projects. By doing this, it is also important that attention is paid to increasing the sense of community among all residents. The co-production projects should be co-designed with citizens, which makes it easy to tailor the project to the relevant audience. Information on the possibilities of co-production should be available to all residents who have different characteristics to make the co-production process as inclusive as possible. By following these recommendations, co-production has a chance to be an incredibly successful endeavour for the municipality of Dordrecht, while also reducing social inequality.