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Reciprocity in the Co-Production of Public Services: The Role of Volunteering through Community Time Exchange?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2018

Gemma Burgess  and
Daniel Durrant
Gemma Burgess
Affiliation:
Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research, Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge E-mail: Glb36@cam.ac.uk
Daniel Durrant
Affiliation:
Bartlett School of Planning, University College London E-mail: daniel.durrant@ucl.ac.uk
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Abstract

Time Credits are a form of community currency based upon the reciprocal exchange of time and represent an interpretation of ‘time banking’ by a UK social enterprise, Spice. This article sets out the contribution made by research on Time Credits to the theory and practice of co-production in public services. Time Credits are intended to improve wellbeing through volunteering and ultimately increase economic participation. There is a focus on communities exhibiting high levels of deprivation within a small Cambridgeshire town (Wisbech, UK) which is geographically isolated and characterised by low-skilled, agri-food based employment opportunities that attracted high levels of inward migration from the A8 EU accession countries. In separating the rhetoric from the reality of co-production, the research aims to shed some light upon the extent to which such initiatives can realistically engender a shift towards a more reciprocal economy in the context of an ongoing programme of fiscal austerity.

Keywords

Co-productionsocial enterprisereciprocityausterity
Type
Articles
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , April 2019 , pp. 171 - 186
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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