Det professionella projektets framväxt inom ramen för en forskningscirkel : en manipulativ eller frigörande praktik?

The thesis looks back on an important transitional period for the municipal social services, a transition between different social models and ideals. During this transi-tional period, in the mid-90s, there was a process of change from the community ideal to market liberalism, the latter being characterized by the client-provider model as a form of governance for the municipal organization. Users of social services were becoming customers and professionals were moving towards increased specialization and centralization of social work. The process of change within the municipal organization is a recurrent theme giving this thesis present timeliness although the process of change presented in the thesis took place almost three decades ago. The overall aim of the thesis was to contribute with in-depth knowledge of the professionals' possibilities to exert influence over a process of change in a politically controlled organization using an empirical example as a starting point. The research approach was based on the action research tradition and primarily towards critical action research. The empirical example, the research circle, where professionals met with the prac-tice of social work and the practice of research for a mutual knowledge formation became a temporary action arena where the “professional project” was developed during the years 1994 to 1996. In the thesis politically adopted policy documents are analyzed, the content of which outlined the direction for the future organization and the content of social work, the "Political Project". The analysis reveals the power relations where the political and administrative domain worked to separate and centralize social work while the professionals worked to maintain a decentralized and integrated individual and family care using new working methods and approaches such as open social counseling, group-oriented social work and city district networks as a basis for social service. The thesis shows that the professionals' influence in the process of change was limited by politically adopted decisions in accordance with the conditions of representative democracy, and that only parts of the professional project, which did not challenge overall organizational structures, could be implemented. Before future reorganizations, it is recommended that those affected by the reorganization should be involved in the process early on in order to expand the decision makers knowledge base by including the professionals' opinions, knowledge and will. The development towards a market-liberal form of organization was a lengthy process but has today become the dominant form of organization within municipal administration