Leveraging normative power in co‐production to redress power imbalances

Abstract

In this article, we explore how less dominant actors, service users in our case, utilize different types of power to influence more dominant professional groups during processes of co‐production. Drawing on semi‐structured interviews with 48 service users involved in healthcare improvement research, we illuminate the crucial role of normative power during processes of co‐production. In contrast to extant co‐production literature, which largely focuses on structural or resource power, we show how normative power is created by service users to leverage influence over more dominant actors. We highlight the relationship between structural, resource, and normative power during processes of co‐production, extending understandings of the dynamic nature of co‐production and generating implications for public involvement policy and practice.