Representation and Beyond: Coproduction and the New Information Technology

Coproduction, or the joint participation of citizens with government in public service delivery, has long interested scholars and practitioners. This article examines the representativeness of citizen coproduction through new, advanced technological means increasingly utilized by local governments: 311 systems. These systems feature a single telephone number for citizens to contact their governments for service requests/referrals, and in many jurisdictions have expanded to include the Internet, social media, and smartphones. Contrary to apprehensions that 311 systems might further exacerbate service inequities, findings based on citizen surveys of San Francisco residents conducted in 2011/2013 suggest that these new forms may help to increase citizen-government coproduction of services and alleviate differences in access for important socioeconomic groups. We acknowledge the limitations of our study, but at the same time propose that in light of the increasing integration of the new information technology into citizen-government coproduction, research in this area consider an emerging model.