The government of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has facilitated various mechanisms to engage citizens and civil society representatives in decision-making and law-making. The National Council of Public Trust (renamed Qurultay), the public chamber, the open budget, and public councils have been strengthened to promote a consultative ideology. One such consultative mechanism—the public council—allows civil society and citizens to monitor the performance of state bodies and co-produce public outcomes. This chapter aims to examine the types of co-production of public outcomes and services emerging through these participatory institutions in Kazakhstan. It applies the framework on co-production by Bovaird and Löffler (2013), which includes co-commissioning, co-design, co-delivery, and co-assessment. This study uses primary data collected in four regional public councils from 2022 to 2023, along with secondary data from national reports on Kazakh public councils. The findings suggest that council members are primarily engaged in co-design, co-commissioning, and co-assessment. However, they are still insufficiently involved in the co-delivery of services and public outcomes, meaning citizen engagement is limited to partial co-production. This is because the state has legally prescribed functions related to co-commissioning, co-design, and co-assessment, but has failed to provide instructions on co-delivery. Additionally, while co-commissioning, co-design, and co-assessment involve offering a voice, co-delivery requires active participation, which council members are reluctant to commit to.

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Public Councils in Kazakhstan: Partial Co-production of Public Services and Outcomes

  • Gulnur Makulbayeva

摘要

The government of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has facilitated various mechanisms to engage citizens and civil society representatives in decision-making and law-making. The National Council of Public Trust (renamed Qurultay), the public chamber, the open budget, and public councils have been strengthened to promote a consultative ideology. One such consultative mechanism—the public council—allows civil society and citizens to monitor the performance of state bodies and co-produce public outcomes. This chapter aims to examine the types of co-production of public outcomes and services emerging through these participatory institutions in Kazakhstan. It applies the framework on co-production by Bovaird and Löffler (2013), which includes co-commissioning, co-design, co-delivery, and co-assessment. This study uses primary data collected in four regional public councils from 2022 to 2023, along with secondary data from national reports on Kazakh public councils. The findings suggest that council members are primarily engaged in co-design, co-commissioning, and co-assessment. However, they are still insufficiently involved in the co-delivery of services and public outcomes, meaning citizen engagement is limited to partial co-production. This is because the state has legally prescribed functions related to co-commissioning, co-design, and co-assessment, but has failed to provide instructions on co-delivery. Additionally, while co-commissioning, co-design, and co-assessment involve offering a voice, co-delivery requires active participation, which council members are reluctant to commit to.