Research co-production: What is co-production, why do it, and how might it be practiced, evaluated, and move forward?

This chapter focuses on co-production. In the first section we cover the ‘what’ question without wishing to essentialize or ontological finalize the concept of co-production. To help with the ‘what ‘is’’ question, and respect difference, different types of co-production are presented. Some possible principles of co-production as well as various differences between co-design and co-creation are offered to help guide co-produced research and understand it better. In the second section we address the ‘why question’. This is done by providing several reasons for doing co-production with the aim to support qualitative researchers in making informed choices about using this approach, or not. The third section addresses the question of ‘how’ co-produced research might be practiced through the example of a World Café. In the fourth section, some future directions for co-production are offered that attend to evaluation and intersectionality. The chapter closes by reinforcing the point that co-production can be a useful and meaningful way for moving qualitative research closer to social justice goals.