Operationalizing inclusive growth: can malleable ideas survive metricized governance?

Clementine Hill O'Connor; Katherine Smith; Ceri Hughes; Petra Meier; Robin Purshouse

doi:10.1111/padm.12916

Operationalizing inclusive growth: can malleable ideas survive metricized governance?

Clementine Hill O'Connor^*, Katherine Smith, Ceri Hughes, Petra Meier, Robin Purshouse

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

46 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Advocates of inclusive growth claim it provides policymakers with a means of combining economic success with social inclusivity, making it highly attractive across a wide range of settings. Here, we explore how three UK policy organizations (a devolved national government, a city region combined authority, and a local council) are pursuing inclusive growth goals. Drawing on 51 semistructured interviews, documentary analysis and policy ethnography, we argue that inclusive growth is a classic "chameleonic idea," strategically imbued with malleable qualities that serve to obscure substantive, unresolved tensions. These characteristics are helpful in achieving alliances, both within policy organizations and between these organizations and their multiple stakeholders. However, these same qualities make inclusive growth challenging to operationalize, especially in governance settings dominated by metrics. The process of representing a malleable idea via a set of metricized indicators involves simplification and stabilization, both of which risk disrupting the fragile coalitions that malleability enables.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	114-130
Number of pages	17
Journal	Public Administration
Volume	102
Issue number	1
Early online date	13 Feb 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12916
Publication status	Published - 31 Mar 2024

Funding

This research was conducted as part of the System-Science Informed Public Health and Health Economic Research (SIPHER) Consortium and the authors thank the whole team for valuable input and discussions that have informed this paper. This work was supported by the UK Prevention Research Partnership (MR/S037578/1), which is funded by the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Health and Social Care Research and Development Division (Welsh Government), Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, Natural Environment Research Council, Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland), The Health Foundation and Wellcome. UK Prevention Research Partnership, Grant/Award Number: MR/S037578/1; British Heart Foundation; Cancer Research UK; Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates; Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council; Economic and Social Research Council; Health and Social Care Research and Development Division (Welsh Government); Medical Research Council; National Institute for Health Research; Natural Environment Research Council; Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland); The Health Foundation and Wellcome Funding information This research was conducted as part of the System‐Science Informed Public Health and Health Economic Research (SIPHER) Consortium and the authors thank the whole team for valuable input and discussions that have informed this paper. This work was supported by the UK Prevention Research Partnership (MR/S037578/1), which is funded by the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Health and Social Care Research and Development Division (Welsh Government), Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, Natural Environment Research Council, Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland), The Health Foundation and Wellcome.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

Keywords

social inclusivity
metricized indicators
Inclusive growth

Access to Document

10.1111/padm.12916Licence: CC BY 4.0

OConnor-etal-PA-2023-Operationalizing-inclusive-growthFinal published version, 1.79 MBLicence: CC BY 4.0

System-science Informed Public Health and Economic Research for Non-communicable Disease Prevention (the SIPHER Consortium)
Smith, K. (Principal Investigator) & Stewart, E. (Co-investigator)
MRC (Medical Research Council)
16/09/19 → 15/03/25
Project: Research

Cite this

@article{0ee6a879df2e4e259a97f756ce3b25c6,

title = "Operationalizing inclusive growth: can malleable ideas survive metricized governance?",

abstract = "Advocates of inclusive growth claim it provides policymakers with a means of combining economic success with social inclusivity, making it highly attractive across a wide range of settings. Here, we explore how three UK policy organizations (a devolved national government, a city region combined authority, and a local council) are pursuing inclusive growth goals. Drawing on 51 semistructured interviews, documentary analysis and policy ethnography, we argue that inclusive growth is a classic {"}chameleonic idea,{"} strategically imbued with malleable qualities that serve to obscure substantive, unresolved tensions. These characteristics are helpful in achieving alliances, both within policy organizations and between these organizations and their multiple stakeholders. However, these same qualities make inclusive growth challenging to operationalize, especially in governance settings dominated by metrics. The process of representing a malleable idea via a set of metricized indicators involves simplification and stabilization, both of which risk disrupting the fragile coalitions that malleability enables.",

keywords = "social inclusivity, metricized indicators, Inclusive growth",

author = "\{Hill O'Connor\}, Clementine and Katherine Smith and Ceri Hughes and Petra Meier and Robin Purshouse",

year = "2024",

month = mar,

day = "31",

doi = "10.1111/padm.12916",

language = "English",

volume = "102",

pages = "114--130",

journal = "Public Administration",

issn = "0033-3298",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",

number = "1",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Operationalizing inclusive growth

T2 - can malleable ideas survive metricized governance?

AU - Hill O'Connor, Clementine

AU - Smith, Katherine

AU - Hughes, Ceri

AU - Meier, Petra

AU - Purshouse, Robin

PY - 2024/3/31

Y1 - 2024/3/31

N2 - Advocates of inclusive growth claim it provides policymakers with a means of combining economic success with social inclusivity, making it highly attractive across a wide range of settings. Here, we explore how three UK policy organizations (a devolved national government, a city region combined authority, and a local council) are pursuing inclusive growth goals. Drawing on 51 semistructured interviews, documentary analysis and policy ethnography, we argue that inclusive growth is a classic "chameleonic idea," strategically imbued with malleable qualities that serve to obscure substantive, unresolved tensions. These characteristics are helpful in achieving alliances, both within policy organizations and between these organizations and their multiple stakeholders. However, these same qualities make inclusive growth challenging to operationalize, especially in governance settings dominated by metrics. The process of representing a malleable idea via a set of metricized indicators involves simplification and stabilization, both of which risk disrupting the fragile coalitions that malleability enables.

AB - Advocates of inclusive growth claim it provides policymakers with a means of combining economic success with social inclusivity, making it highly attractive across a wide range of settings. Here, we explore how three UK policy organizations (a devolved national government, a city region combined authority, and a local council) are pursuing inclusive growth goals. Drawing on 51 semistructured interviews, documentary analysis and policy ethnography, we argue that inclusive growth is a classic "chameleonic idea," strategically imbued with malleable qualities that serve to obscure substantive, unresolved tensions. These characteristics are helpful in achieving alliances, both within policy organizations and between these organizations and their multiple stakeholders. However, these same qualities make inclusive growth challenging to operationalize, especially in governance settings dominated by metrics. The process of representing a malleable idea via a set of metricized indicators involves simplification and stabilization, both of which risk disrupting the fragile coalitions that malleability enables.

KW - social inclusivity

KW - metricized indicators

KW - Inclusive growth

U2 - 10.1111/padm.12916

DO - 10.1111/padm.12916

M3 - Article

SN - 0033-3298

VL - 102

SP - 114

EP - 130

JO - Public Administration

JF - Public Administration

IS - 1

ER -

Operationalizing inclusive growth: can malleable ideas survive metricized governance?

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Projects

System-science Informed Public Health and Economic Research for Non-communicable Disease Prevention (the SIPHER Consortium)

Cite this