[en] In this paper, we reflect on the work of coordinators in the fields of mental healthcare and internment. We examine the contribution of this new type of workers to the implementing of policy plans targeting complex social problems, such as the issue of mental health care fragmentation.
We outline a theoretical and methodological framework appropriate to the study of coordination in
action, before describing the coordinators’ working environment, concrete coordination practices and
the occasions in which they are visible.
Based on this empirical description, we argue that the coordinator work begin more with ignorance than with knowledge and that coordinators do not know precisely who they are, as coordinators, both individually and collectively. Neither do they know exactly what to do. The coordinators’ world is nevertheless full of knowledge: there are plenty of experts claiming diverging interpretations of the complex problems addressed by the coordinators. Therefore, we ask how the coordinators deal with their ignorance in such an ambiguous world, that is, a world characterised by both an abundance of knowledge and a scarcity of resources.
We show that postulating the coordinators ignorance helps to see what is the core of their function and how they perform their work, that is, by attending and scheduling meetings where previously separated and incommensurable events are linked together.
Research center :
CRIS - Centre de Recherche et d'Interventions Sociologiques
Disciplines :
Sociology & social sciences
Author, co-author :
Darcis, Coralie ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Faculté des sciences sociales > Sociologie des ress. hum. et des systèmes institutionnels
Thunus, Sophie ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Faculté des sciences sociales > Sociologie des ress. hum. et des systèmes institutionnels
Language :
English
Title :
The work coordinators do. An organisational reflection on the coordination function as enactive of change in complex policy fields.
Publication date :
September 2017
Event name :
ECPR General Conference
Event organizer :
European Consortium for Political Research
Event place :
Oslo, Norway
Event date :
06-09-2017 au 09-09-2017
Audience :
International
References of the abstract :
In this paper, we reflect on the work of coordinators in the fields of mental healthcare and internment.
We examine the contribution of this new type of workers to the implementing of policy plans targeting
complex social problems, such as the issue of mental health care fragmentation.
We outline a theoretical and methodological framework appropriate to the study of coordination in
action, before describing the coordinators’ working environment, concrete coordination practices and
the occasions in which they are visible.
Based on this empirical description, we argue that the coordinator work begin more with ignorance than
with knowledge and that coordinators do not know precisely who they are, as coordinators, both
individually and collectively. Neither do they know exactly what to do. The coordinators’ world is
nevertheless full of knowledge: there are plenty of experts claiming diverging interpretations of the
complex problems addressed by the coordinators. Therefore, we ask how the coordinators deal with
their ignorance in such an ambiguous world, that is, a world characterised by both an abundance of
knowledge and a scarcity of resources.
We show that postulating the coordinators ignorance helps to see what is the core of their function and
how they perform their work, that is, by attending and scheduling meetings where previously separated
and incommensurable events are linked together.
