Coproduction in practice : participatory action research to develop a model of community aged care

Coproduction has become synonymous with innovative approaches to public service delivery in European Union countries as well as in Australia. Coproduction has the potential to bring together individuals, communities, and organisations in a process to collaboratively develop new models and services which improve public services. Yet, Australian policy makers and practitioners who would like to deploy coproduction within the context of older adult social care can only draw on a handful of papers and reports that could guide implementation. This paper fills this gap by reporting on the implementation of a multi-stakeholder coproduction approach to the development of a consumer directed care model for older people with complex health issues. The paper describes and critically highlights methodological challenges encountered during the 12 month-long participatory action research phase of a larger project involving older people with complex care needs, their carers, and government and non-government stakeholders. The paper outlines key considerations regarding (1) the involvement of older people with complex needs, (2) collaboration with industry partners, (3) engagement of government representatives, and (4) reflects on implementing participatory research projects within a context of outsourcing and interlinked supply chains. While not all challenges encountered could be resolved, the coproduction approach was successful in bringing together a wide range of stakeholders with competing agendas in an iterative process geared to resolve a plethora of concerns raised by older people, carers and services providers. This paper provides an example for others seeking to use coproduction and participatory methods to provide person-centred care services for older people.

Coproduction and Casula's Pacifica Program: Initial research findings

This research takes Casula Powerhouse Art Centre’s Pacifica program as a case study to investigate the ways in which museum and galleries are involved in coproduction with culturally diverse communities. Coproduction is defined here as:Museum and gallery practice conducted jointly with communities or other external partiesThe benefits of coproduction are that it leads to more effective and efficient public services (including arts and cultural services) while also building the skills and capacity of the community. However coproduction is not easy, particularly because it requires public service providers and communities to work in ‘equal and reciprocal’ relationships.As an organisation with strong and strategic alliances to its governing body (Liverpool City Council), Casula brings a strong capacity for coproduction. Internally it has support and commitment to coproduction from across the organisation. The staff at Casula bring exceptional relational skills. The organisation’s capacity to coproduce draws heavily on their skills as cultural brokers and experience in community cultural development practice. The communities Casula works with bring strong cultural knowledge and practice, along with a desire to maintain and preserve these community resources. Casula’s coproduction work also meets external political needs for public services to deliver increased public value as well as a greater diversity in the profile of arts audiences.The key challenge for Casula Powerhouse’s coproduction work is the extent to which it aims for joint delivery of public services through ‘equal and reciprocal’ relationships with the community, or uses coproduction as a tool for community engagement and audience development. Advocates of coproduction in the public sector argue for its value as a means of delivering more effective and efficient public services while at the same time building the skills and capacity of local communities. A critical element of coproduction according to these writers and scholars is the development and delivery of public services through ‘equal and reciprocal’ relationships between providers and users.The value of coproduction for Casula Powerhouse and the Pacifica program is its use as a means of community engagement and audience development. Coproduction is a feature of the components of Pacifica that enable the participation of the community and provide entry points for audiences to engage with contemporary art. Evidence of this approach to coproduction can be seen in the dual ‘stakeholder’ and ‘audience’ role that the community have within the Pacifica program. The community is therefore both a contributor to Pacifica and a beneficiary of this work. The benefits Casula Powerhouse receives from the community’s involvement in Pacifica are greater public value of its work and stronger engagement with communities and audiences.Although coproduction may not be the focus of all aspects of Pacifica, the involvement of Pacific Islander communities in the program results in exhibitions and public programs that are not typical contemporary art gallery offerings. Pacifica is further evidence of Casula Powerhouse’s innovative and entrepreneurial approach to gallery practice. The use of coproduction also ensures Pacifica offers an authentic and distinctive gallery experience.

Propyl gallate and butylated hydroxytoluene influence the accumulation of saturated fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acid and carotenoids in thraustochytrids

Schizochytrium sp. S31 was shown to have potential for production of the functional food ingredients docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and astaxanthin, with coproduction of biodiesel. Biomass and lipid levels were greater with glycerol than with glucose as carbon source. Addition of propyl gallate or butylated hydroxytoluene to the media resulted in increased biomass and lipid levels, with propyl gallate being the more effective of the two antioxidants. Medium supplementation with propyl gallate at 0.03% and glycerol as the carbon source resulted in enhanced biomass productivity (28.50 g L^-1), lipid accumulation (24.87 g L^-1) and astaxanthin levels (452.26 μg L^-1).

Isolation and development of oil producing microorganisms including Thraustochytrids from Indian and Australian marine biodiversity

 The author isolated and characterized several Thraustochytrid strains from Indian and Australian marine biodiversity and compared these strains for their application in biodiesel and DHA production depend on their fatty acid profile. Strain having best productivity was further optimized for the coproduction of DHA and biodiesel.

As luck would have it: serendipity and solace in digital research infrastructure

 This essay explores the ways in which new developments in digital research infrastructure change our expectations of archival research and offer opportunities for a newly energized feminist approach to the archive. A specific platform, the Humanities Networked Infrastructure, is explored as an example of how digital technologies enable the coproduction of the archive and at the same time extend the possibilities for serendipitous discovery.

The role of deliberative planning in translating best practice into good practice: from placeless-ness to placemaking

Best practice encompasses a transfer of expert knowledge developed in one setting to address a particular issue and, through achieving some recognised benchmark, that technique, model and/or policy is applied in another setting to achieve the same desired improvement. Best practice can sometimes bring with it an inherent structure and assumed knowledge that may largely be absent in the new setting to which it is being applied. This type of “best practice” approach may come to represent the placeless-ness of externally derived and applied planning knowledge; removing itself from deliberative planning, placemaking and coproduction efforts where a collective and jointly aspired-to outcome is desired. The objectives of this paper are twofold: 1) to examine the implementation of a transfer of planning ideas across distances and in planning practice by investigating two very different “best practice” case studies (one in Australia and one in Nepal); and 2) to develop an adaptive “good practice” approach that can be used to structure deliberative planning efforts in placemaking. Central to this paper is the theoretical perspective of the diversity, interdependence and authentic dialogue (DIAD) theory of collaborative rationality and its emphasis on deliberation, collaboration and use of different knowledge types to aid with decision-making. The theoretical ideas of the paper are then worked through the two case studies to also illustrate that the DIAD may be applied to site specific (design/planning) projects, thereby adding a new layer of good practice applicability to the theory.

Bioprospecting and discovery of novel micoralgal isolates with multiple product potential.

Bio prospecting of microalgal resources from diverse ecologically distinctive locations and better understanding of the physiological conditions of diverse habitats will enable us to better exploit these organisms for the production of lipid and carotenoids.The potential for coproduction of lipid and carotenoids, that may be benefical to human health have gained interest in recent decades. Methods for co-production and separating higher value compounds such as carotenoids and lipids can offset the cost of algal biofuel production, making this source more commercially viable.