What is “good” co-production in the context of planetary health research, and how is it enabled?

Daniel Black; Geoff Bates; Andy Gibson; Kathy Pain; Ges Rosenberg; Jo White

doi:10.1016/j.esg.2024.100229

What is “good” co-production in the context of planetary health research, and how is it enabled?

Daniel Black, Geoff Bates, Andy Gibson, Kathy Pain, Ges Rosenberg, Jo White

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Involvement of non-academic stakeholders in research is essential when seeking to address global challenges, yet there is considerable uncertainty on how to do this well given the complexity. This paper aims to define more clearly what ‘good’ co-production looks like in the context of urban-planetary health research and how to operationalise it in research design, drawing on existing literature alongside case study experience from operationalising a major research programme. The first sections of the paper set out the rationale, and analyses key issues identified relating to co-production. The case study analysis is based on six headline themes: clarity of mission, language, societal impact, complexity, new approaches and limitations. Eight principles are presented alongside associated questions for research teams. Logic model development and co-production activities are plotted along the ten-year research trajectory, which reveals five key decision points and potential opportunities for optimising mission-oriented co-production in research design.

Original language	English
Article number	100229
Journal	Earth System Governance
Volume	23
Early online date	2 Dec 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esg.2024.100229
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024

Data Availability Statement

No data was used for the research described in the article.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank John Coggon and Krista Bondy for their input in the early development of this paper, and with them Sarah Ayres and Neil Carhart for their contributions to an early developmental seminar on the topic.

Funding

This work was supported by the UK Prevention Research Partnership (award reference: MR/SO37586/1), which was funded by the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, Engineering and Physical Sciences Reearch Council, Economic and Social Sciences Research Council, Health and Social Care Research and Development Division (Welsh Government), Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, Natural Environment Research Council, Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland), The Health Foundation and Wellcome. GB is a member of “Local Health and Global Profits” (Grant no MR/Y030753/1) which is part of Population Health Improvement UK (PHI-UK), a national research network which works to transform health and reduce inequalities through change at the population level.

Funders	Funder number
Natural Environment Research Council
Economic and Social Research Council
Medical Research Council
Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, Engineering and Physical Sciences Reearch Council
Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland
National Institute for Health and Care Research
Public Health Agency
Cancer Research UK
British Heart Foundation
Health Foundation
Health and Social Care Research and Development Division
Wellcome Trust	MR/Y030753/1

Keywords

Co-creation
Co-design
Co-production
Collaboration
Planetary health
Stakeholder analysis
Urban development

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Global and Planetary Change
Geography, Planning and Development
Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
Political Science and International Relations
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.esg.2024.100229Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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title = "What is “good” co-production in the context of planetary health research, and how is it enabled?",

abstract = "Involvement of non-academic stakeholders in research is essential when seeking to address global challenges, yet there is considerable uncertainty on how to do this well given the complexity. This paper aims to define more clearly what {\textquoteleft}good{\textquoteright} co-production looks like in the context of urban-planetary health research and how to operationalise it in research design, drawing on existing literature alongside case study experience from operationalising a major research programme. The first sections of the paper set out the rationale, and analyses key issues identified relating to co-production. The case study analysis is based on six headline themes: clarity of mission, language, societal impact, complexity, new approaches and limitations. Eight principles are presented alongside associated questions for research teams. Logic model development and co-production activities are plotted along the ten-year research trajectory, which reveals five key decision points and potential opportunities for optimising mission-oriented co-production in research design.",

keywords = "Co-creation, Co-design, Co-production, Collaboration, Planetary health, Stakeholder analysis, Urban development",

author = "Daniel Black and Geoff Bates and Andy Gibson and Kathy Pain and Ges Rosenberg and Jo White",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024",

year = "2025",

month = jan,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.esg.2024.100229",

language = "English",

volume = "23",

journal = "Earth System Governance",