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When policy o'erleaps itself: the 'tragic tale' of the Integrated Children's System

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When policy o'erleaps itself: the 'tragic tale' of the Integrated Children's System. / White, S.; Wastell, David; Broadhurst, K. et al.
In: Critical Social Policy, Vol. 30, No. 3, 08.2010, p. 405-429.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article

Harvard

White, S, Wastell, D, Broadhurst, K & Hall, C 2010, 'When policy o'erleaps itself: the 'tragic tale' of the Integrated Children's System', Critical Social Policy, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 405-429. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261018310367675

APA

White, S., Wastell, D., Broadhurst, K., & Hall, C. (2010). When policy o'erleaps itself: the 'tragic tale' of the Integrated Children's System. Critical Social Policy, 30(3), 405-429. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261018310367675

Vancouver

White S, Wastell D, Broadhurst K, Hall C. When policy o'erleaps itself: the 'tragic tale' of the Integrated Children's System. Critical Social Policy. 2010 Aug;30(3):405-429. doi: 10.1177/0261018310367675

Author

White, S. ; Wastell, David ; Broadhurst, K. et al. / When policy o'erleaps itself : the 'tragic tale' of the Integrated Children's System. In: Critical Social Policy. 2010 ; Vol. 30, No. 3. pp. 405-429.

Bibtex

@article{f7f9f27302aa4b20867ad4654375de99,
title = "When policy o'erleaps itself: the 'tragic tale' of the Integrated Children's System",
abstract = "Information technology plays a pivotal role in New Labour{\textquoteright}s modernization programme. Here we report findings from a 2 year ethnographic study of the impact and origin of one such system, the Integrated Children{\textquoteright}s System, which has been deployed in statutory children{\textquoteright}s social care. We show how the ICS, by attempting to micro-manage work through a rigid performance management regime, and a centrally prescribed practice model, has disrupted the professional task, engendering a range of unsafe practices and provoking a gathering storm of user resistance. We attribute these paradoxical outcomes to inherent flaws in the design of ICS, which derive from the history of its development and its embodiment of an audit-driven, inspectorial ideology. We conclude with some suggestions for user-centred design and policymaking, which have relevance not only for children{\textquoteright}s social care but for the public services in general.",
keywords = "ethnography, information technology , performance management, social work , user-centred design",
author = "S. White and David Wastell and K. Broadhurst and Chris Hall",
year = "2010",
month = aug,
doi = "10.1177/0261018310367675",
language = "English",
volume = "30",
pages = "405--429",
journal = "Critical Social Policy",
issn = "0261-0183",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Ltd",
number = "3",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - When policy o'erleaps itself

T2 - the 'tragic tale' of the Integrated Children's System

AU - White, S.

AU - Wastell, David

AU - Broadhurst, K.

AU - Hall, Chris

PY - 2010/8

Y1 - 2010/8

N2 - Information technology plays a pivotal role in New Labour’s modernization programme. Here we report findings from a 2 year ethnographic study of the impact and origin of one such system, the Integrated Children’s System, which has been deployed in statutory children’s social care. We show how the ICS, by attempting to micro-manage work through a rigid performance management regime, and a centrally prescribed practice model, has disrupted the professional task, engendering a range of unsafe practices and provoking a gathering storm of user resistance. We attribute these paradoxical outcomes to inherent flaws in the design of ICS, which derive from the history of its development and its embodiment of an audit-driven, inspectorial ideology. We conclude with some suggestions for user-centred design and policymaking, which have relevance not only for children’s social care but for the public services in general.

AB - Information technology plays a pivotal role in New Labour’s modernization programme. Here we report findings from a 2 year ethnographic study of the impact and origin of one such system, the Integrated Children’s System, which has been deployed in statutory children’s social care. We show how the ICS, by attempting to micro-manage work through a rigid performance management regime, and a centrally prescribed practice model, has disrupted the professional task, engendering a range of unsafe practices and provoking a gathering storm of user resistance. We attribute these paradoxical outcomes to inherent flaws in the design of ICS, which derive from the history of its development and its embodiment of an audit-driven, inspectorial ideology. We conclude with some suggestions for user-centred design and policymaking, which have relevance not only for children’s social care but for the public services in general.

KW - ethnography

KW - information technology

KW - performance management

KW - social work

KW - user-centred design

U2 - 10.1177/0261018310367675

DO - 10.1177/0261018310367675

M3 - Journal article

VL - 30

SP - 405

EP - 429

JO - Critical Social Policy

JF - Critical Social Policy

SN - 0261-0183

IS - 3

ER -