From co-production to value co-creation: NGOs as catalysts of cyclical public value in rural China

This study explores how NGOs facilitate the transition from co-production to value co-creation in rural ecological governance through a case study of the Guanba River Basin, China. Drawing on qualitative evidence and social network analysis, it reveals that NGOs’ front-loaded participation in problem framing, planning, and rule formation creates institutional and relational foundations for collaborative governance. Beyond boundary-spanning roles, NGOs function as institutional intermediaries that reshape governance arrangements and enhance local capacity. Value co-creation emerges through institutional embeddedness, actor absorption, and adaptive governance within a recursive ecosystem. This study provides an institutionally grounded explanation of how externally facilitated co-production evolves into locally sustained value co-creation.