Could you tell us about your research theme?

Odamaki : Co-production is my research theme. Co-production is a concept proposed in the 1970s by American public administration scholars such as Vincent Ostrom. Although definitions vary by scholar, it is generally understood as the notion that in the provision of public services, voluntary collaboration between professionals and users enhances the quality and quantity of such services. Nowadays, it is employed across a broad spectrum of fields, including business administration, sociology, and policy science, but I specifically focus on organizing the concepts of co-production and conducting case studies within the realm of welfare services.

Could you tell us about your research so far?

Odamaki : One of the cases I am focusing on is the Swedish parent cooperative preschools, which are run by parents themselves. Sweden has preschools that provide educational and childcare services to children from the ages of one to six. There are various operating bodies, such as communes (basic local governments), including municipalities, private for-profit companies, foundations, and cooperatives, one of which is the parent cooperative preschools.

Parents are obligated to be involved in organizational management and service production in parent cooperative preschools, which enhances the quality and quantity of services offered at the school. The extent and nature of parental participation in service production varies. For instance, parents might be involved in indirect services, such as cleaning and repairing facilities or preparing lunch and snacks, as well as direct services, like assisting with meals or reading books during staff absences. Particularly important to me is whether parents are involved in decision-making related to organizational management. My research has shown that in Swedish parent cooperative preschools, parents with voting rights participate in several board meetings a year, involving themselves in decisions related to budget allocation, personnel matters, and the acceptance of new pupils.

Could you tell us more about your case studies in Sweden?

Odamaki : In Sweden’s preschools, there has been a trend towards increased professionalism in recent years. In this context, I wondered whether there would be changes in the parent cooperative preschools, which advocate for the participation of parents who are “amateurs” in education. To elucidate this, I studied 12 parent cooperative preschools in Sweden during 2015–2016. The results showed that while direct participation by parents in childcare services had decreased, indirect participation remained intact in a diverse manner: particularly, parental involvement in decision-making remained strong.

While it is a challenge to determine what constitutes an enhancement in the quality and quantity of services in co-production, this study has identified three significant benefits of parental participation in such parent cooperatives. Firstly, by participating in indirect services, parents allow educators to focus on their primary work, thereby effectively utilizing their professionalism. Secondly, it promotes communication between parents and staff. In the realm of welfare services, including preschool education, it is often pointed out that insufficient information sharing between service providers and users may lead to unmet needs. Communication between parents and staff in parent cooperatives can serve as an effective means to overcome this mutual incompleteness of information. Thirdly, parental involvement can lead to budget savings, which can be allocated to more important aspects or items for the children. Thus, by eliminating the incompleteness of information through parental participation and ensuring optimal budget allocation based on actual needs, it is believed that the quality and quantity of services can be enhanced.

Could you tell us about your current project?

Odamaki : So far, I have analyzed the reality of co-production through cases such as Swedish parent cooperative preschools and Japanese health and welfare co-ops. Currently, I am focusing on parental participation in Japanese childcare.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) highlights “family and community involvement” as a critical policy issue for improving the quality of childcare, and many countries now recommend parental involvement in the operation and activities of childcare facilities and view it as a resource for enhancing the quality and quantity of childcare. However, in Japan, discussions on parental involvement have not progressed as much. To grasp the reality, interviews were conducted with parents aged 18 and older who have the experience of attending management committees in childcare facilities where parents participate. My particular focus lay on whether parents are involved in decision-making processes. Although the role of management committees varies by childcare facility, the current findings indicate that they do not always function effectively as an entity for decision-making related to organizational management. On the other hand, it was observed that informal communication, such as conversations between parents and staff during child pickup and drop-off, is frequently used to reflect parents’ opinions. My plans for the future include conducting large-scale surveys to expand into quantitative research.

Co-production is most effective when it is a voluntary choice. To encourage parental involvement in Japan, it is essential to establish the environmental conditions and systems that enable it. Accordingly, alongside understanding the significance of parental participation in childcare service production, I intend to identify the conditions that could make such participation feasible.