Co-production and the key aspects of community involvement in flood risk management (FRM)

Flood risk management (FRM) has shifted towards more decentralised and people-centred approaches. This increase in community involvement has become conceptually linked with ‘coproduction,’ used in other societal domains by both academics and professionals over the past decade. The two main principles of co-production are fair, equitable distribution of power and community empowerment. Mees et al. (2018) have set out typologies of citizen co-production in one of the most relevant frameworks for understanding the forms of co-production within the domain of FRM. Yet some of the Mees' categories arguably do not fully adhere or embrace the core principles of equitable power distribution and empowerment. This paper discusses how the potential limitations in these categories could inadvertently reinforce power imbalances and restrain opportunity for community empowerment. Drawing on wider research, a scoping literature review (across bibliographic databases Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar), the paper argues that five key aspects of community involvement—mutual learning, early and long-term involvement, inclusivity, clear objectives, and capacity building—would enable adherence to the core principles of co-production in FRM. These key aspects integrated with the Mees’ framework would enable the evaluation of not only the ‘form’ of co-production, but also if and how communities have been empowered in the process.