Unpacking Citizen Differences: How Preconditions Shape Citizens’ Importance of Outcomes in Co-Creation

Co-creation initiatives, which involve the active collaboration of citizens in the policy making proces, have become increasingly important in policy development and public service innovation. However, previous research highlights a notable downside: Certain groups remain underrepresented in these participatory processes, while others are overrepresented. Understanding the preferences, priorities, and motivations of these groups can be an important tool in increasing representativeness and inclusivity in co-creation initiatives. This paper explores the underlying preconditions that influence citizen preferences regarding the outcomes of co-creation, with a specific focus on socio-demographic factors, such as immigration background, gender, age, and level of education, and individual preconditions such as internal efficacy, motivation, and political interest. A survey was conducted among 1116 Belgian citizens (N=1116), collecting data on socio-demographic variables (immigration background, age, gender, level of education) and preconditions such as internal efficacy, motivation, and political interest. Participants were then asked to assess the importance of various outcomes when engaging in co-creation, categorized into three types: product outcomes (direct goals and results), process outcomes (evaluation and organization of the process), and institutional outcomes (long-term effects on beliefs and behavior). The goal of this research is to examine how different socio-demographic groups and individuals with varying levels of preconditions prioritize these outcome categories. We hypothesize that socio-demographic factors, such as age, gender, and education, alongside motivation and political interest, significantly shape individuals' preferences and priorities for participating in co-creation initiatives. [Specifically, we expect that individuals with higher levels of political interest and internal efficacy will attach more importance to on institutional outcomes, while those less politically engaged may prioritize product outcomes. Additionally, people who have a lower level of education and immigration background may attach more importance to process outcomes than people of other groups.] To analyze the data, we will first use ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) to test for significant differences between socio-demographic groups in how they prioritize outcomes. Then, we will use Multiple Regression analysis to examine how internal efficacy, motivation, and political interest influence the importance of each outcome category.