Table 1 Guiding reflective questions for coproduction leadership

People and roles

- Are all relevant and affected people in the room? (senior leaders, people/citizens, politicians, professionals etc.)

- Do you need project leaders, facilitators, champions or ambassadors?

- How are leadership roles working for everybody?

Models of leadership

- When and how is a leadership model decided upon, and by whom?

- Individual leadership: Are the people involved committed to sharing power and leadership?

- Coleadership: How and when do individuals share the leadership?

- Collective leadership: How are conditions enabled so that leadership emerges within a group? How will the group’s engagement be enhanced in leadership?

Practices of leading coproduction

 1.Initiating coproduction

- How can organizations and relevant people effectively recognize the need for coproduction?

- What leadership model is most appropriate for our aims and context?

- Have the necessary resources been identified and secured and how can leaders manage these?

- Are all relevant and affected people in the room? (senior leaders, people/citizens, politicians, professionals etc.)

- Do you need project leaders, facilitators, champions or ambassadors?

- How can stakeholders be actively engaged from the beginning?

 2.Power sharing

- How can coproduction leadership effectively address power redistribution, and what cultural shifts and practices are essential to make this redistribution successful?

- What distinguishes stakeholder involvement from meaningful engagement?

- How can organizations ensure that coproduction efforts do not inadvertently reinforce existing inequities and disparities, especially when involving vulnerable or marginalized groups?

- Are we using the most appropriate leadership model for our aims and context?

- How are leadership roles working for everybody?

 3.Training and Development

- What strategies should leaders consider to develop coleadership skills over time, without overwhelming them?

- What measures can leaders put in place to support individuals transitioning into co-leadership roles?

 4.Support

- How can leaders strike a balance between actively facilitating coproduction processes and sharing power, responsibility and ownership that drive sustainable engagement?

- How can champions of coproduction be supported within diverse stakeholder groups, recognizing that effective champions can emerge from various backgrounds and roles?

- How can leaders, particularly senior leaders, advocate for and champion coproduction initiatives within their organizations or institutions?

 5.Establishing trusting relationships

- How can leaders proactively build, facilitate and nurture trust-building efforts among diverse stakeholders involved in coproduction?

- What specific actions and strategies can senior leaders employ to demonstrate and instil their commitment to coproduction initiatives to staff and participants?

- In what ways can community leaders play a pivotal role in building and sustaining trust within communities and between community members and external organizations?

 6.Communication

- How can conflict and disagreement be appreciated and productively engaged with?

- How can we actively create an environment of "epistemological tolerance" that encourages diverse perspectives to be valued and embraced, enabling meaningful dialogue and constructive exchanges among coproduction partners?

- What strategies and approaches can leaders employ to effectively manage conflicts and power dynamics that may arise during coproduction processes, ensuring that disagreements lead to productive discussions and decisions rather than impeding progress?

- How can leaders help participants navigate the discomfort that may arise when transitioning to more equitable relationships and confronting challenges to professional identities, ensuring that these difficulties do not hinder the coproduction process but rather contribute to its growth and evolution?

 7.Networking

- How do we network and bring different organizations and stakeholders together?

- How do we bridge differences?

- Are we thinking broadly enough about which actors are valuable in our system?

- How can project leaders effectively mediate between various stakeholders in co-production initiatives to ensure alignment of perspectives and collaborative efforts, while avoiding power imbalances or conflicts?

- What strategies can be employed to bridge gaps between different sectors or organizations, to facilitate the cross-fertilization of ideas and promote cooperation in coproduction?

- How can leaders maximize the benefits of boundary spanning between sites or local service providers enhance the outcomes and sustainability of coproduction initiatives?

 8.Orchestration

- Is there a person or body overseeing the whole process?

- How can leaders effectively orchestrate and coordinate diverse stakeholders in co-production efforts to ensure that the collective effort surpasses the sum of individual contributions?

- How can leaders systematically evaluate the effectiveness of coproduction efforts, including assessing their impact on outcomes, to inform ongoing improvements and adjustments in the coproduction process?

 9.Implementation

- Do senior leaders support necessary implementation and/or sustainment?

- What leadership strategies and mechanisms can effectively support the implementation of coproduction outcomes, ensuring that they are integrated into strategic plans, policies, and quality improvement initiatives?

- What strategies can leaders employ to address and overcome barriers to implementation, especially when there is resistance or poor alignment between coproduction recommendations and policies or procedures?