Sponsored production is the use of another company (such as an association or publisher) to develop a white paper. Sponsored production may be performed exclusively for one company, developed for a small list of companies (syndicated), or produced for many companies (shared sponsorship).

Exclusive Production - Exclusive production is the creation of a document based on the requirements or interests of a single company. Exclusive production usually provides the sponsoring company with the ability to control the scope, focus and content of the white paper.

Syndicated Production - Syndicated production is the sharing of the production process by two or more companies. The syndicated partners may be non-competing firms that provide complementary services.

When syndicated production is performed, outlines and content additions may need to be approved by multiple companies which can complicate and delay production. When adding syndicated companies to a project, syndicated companies already involved with the project may have the right of refusal concerning the addition of other companies.

Shared Production - Shared production is the support of and/or contribution to a development effort (such as a white paper) by many companies. Each company in a shared production development project may have little control over the selection of and interaction with other companies.

This figure shows how white paper production may be performed on an exclusive, syndicated or shared basis. Exclusive sponsorship allows a single company to define the scope, focus and content of the white paper. Syndicated sponsorship allows a limited number of companies to review and approve the content and approve or reject additional syndicate sponsors. Shared sponsorship allows many contributors to a white paper development project where each sponsor has a limited amount of control over partners.