Browsing by Subject "kulttuuripalvelut"

This study reviews co-production with citizens in the context of working-life projects of higher education. Studies on the topic in question and on the outcomes of co-production with citizens are rare and, the study serves both needs. The object of study is the Until Now project, realised by Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. In it, an art performance was co-produced with the working-life partners and citizens for the Finnish National Opera. The project participated especially the elderly but also children and young people. The research problem covers the interests of the participants and resources brought by them into the project, as well as the challenges and possibilities of the project. The study was realised as qualitative case study. The analysed data, gathered especially for this study, was based on the semi-structured interviews of five individual participants of the project. The method of thematic analysis was deployed in the data analysis. Four separate analyses were carried out, altogether, one for each of the specific research questions. The results of them were reflected against activity theory and the prior research on co-production with citizens. The results showed the multi-layered nature and variety of the interests of the participants. The significance of sufficient and appropriate material resources and of qualities of the immaterial resources were emphasised. Various challenges emerged during the project, the productional and practical ones being stressed. The possibilities and positive effects of the project were multiple and expanded also beyond it. The focal meaning of the community, joint activity and encounter between the generations for the citizen participants also came up. The role of the elderly was of critical importance from the standpoint of the artistic work and meeting the learning objectives. Expansions of the activity caused additional challenges but also allowed positive outcomes to emerge. The activity theoretical angle highlights characteristics of expansions of activity, knot-working and distributed agency in the results. The main conclusion is that co-production with citizens is a relevant form of collaboration in the context of working-life projects of higher education. The results of the study add knowledge on the outcomes of co-production with citizens, which is scarce so far. The results also can be applied in the practical work, especially in the development of higher education and public service production.