Of tractors in Tanganyika : rethinking outcomes in social care reform

Tools

Miller, Emma; Wilson, Rob and Hesselgreaves, Hannah and French, Max and Hawkins, Melissa and Jamieson, David and Shand, Rory and Roberts, Anton, eds. (2026) Of tractors in Tanganyika : rethinking outcomes in social care reform. In: Elgar Companion for Relational Public Services. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham. (In Press)

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Abstract

Relational and human-centred reforms in public services encounter a recurring paradox. Efforts to centre relational and enabling practices are repeatedly eclipsed by administrative routines and measures, such as reductive Key Performance Indicators, targets and eligibility criteria. Within this reductive service context, human centred initiatives often struggle to obtain and hold a foothold. Drawing on two decades of research and knowledge exchange in Scotland, with reference to recent engagement work with unpaid carers and staff, this chapter examines competing interpretations of outcomes: as a means of collaborative engagement about what matters in people’s lives, or another administrative measure that marginalises relationships and constrains professional discretion. These tensions must also be understood within the political economy of welfare, where social care has long been undervalued and policy ambitions frequently outstrip material conditions. Yet the difficulties cannot be explained by funding alone; across changing fiscal contexts, measurement-driven governance continues to overshadow relational practice. Many relational reforms begin as invitations to dialogue and shared judgement but ultimately sediment into bureaucratic form. The challenge is not simply to introduce relational reforms but to collectively resist the governance regimes that repeatedly reduce them to technical compliance. The chapter argues that reclaiming outcomes requires attention to practice architectures and relational infrastructure: the conditions, relationships and learning systems through which meaningful conversations can be sustained, recorded and used for collective learning.

ORCID iDs

Miller, Emma ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2316-2796; Wilson, Rob, Hesselgreaves, Hannah, French, Max, Hawkins, Melissa, Jamieson, David, Shand, Rory and Roberts, Anton
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)