Co-production Practices in Public Social Services during the COVID-19 Lockdown Period. An Example from Centers for Older Adults Organized under the Polish Government’s Multiannual Program “Senior+”

The continuing COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting our health and other aspects of our lives — work, family life, and contact with others. Everyday functioning has changed completely. The threat of the pandemic has forced us to develop new everyday practices, including co-producing services in conditions of minimal direct contact. The article aims to present co-production practices in public social services during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The discussion is based on the results of nationwide research conducted in Poland among formal organizers of services in local centers for older adults organized under the government’s multiannual program “Senior+” (155 from 772 centers throughout Poland). The author distinguished three primary forms of the older people co-production (Elementary, Individual, and Collective) filled with various service practices during the COVID-19 lockdown period.