Public value as care within and for practices

Abstract

This article draws on practice theory and care theory to conceptualize public value as care within and for the practices to which citizens are entitled. In doing so, it contributes by theoretically integrating major strands of public value research. More specifically, it shows that strategic management of public value depends on the sustained care for practices; that contestation over public value centres on struggles over what should be cared for; that the cocreation and codestruction of public value depend on the extent to which practices are carefully sustained; and that public values are normatively grounded in care and become visible through enacted practices. The article also outlines practical implications for addressing pressing collective challenges through policy design and demonstrates how legitimacy, management, and accountability are reconfigured when public value is understood as care within and for the practices to which citizens are entitled.