In the name of motivation: the procurement of social work and its technologies of self and power

Abstract

In recent decades, market reforms have paved the way for new forms to govern social work practice by means of procurement, cost efficiency, measurement, and freedom of choice. In this article, we draw attention to how clients are constructed in terms of motivation, in a context where social work is shaped by a procurement arrangement. Empirically, the article is based on interviews with social workers providing social services in a procurement setting, with a focus on how they describe their work in relation to presumptive clients, and specifically their work upon the motivation of clients. The analysis is informed by a constructionist approach to governing and the construction of clients. The results illustrate how the ideal client is constructed as motivated to choose a provider of social services matching their specific needs and interests as well as displaying a will to change and take part in the services offered. The social work appearing as desirable is based on a therapeutic rationality, with dialogue as the primary means of working upon the motivation of clients. The results further illustrate how different technologies (of the self and power) operate and intertwine in the work upon motivation of clients.