Managing the Coordination of Social Services in the Mixed Economy of Welfare: Competition, Cooperation or Common Cause?

This paper explores the issue of the coordination of public services in conditions of plural service provision. It does this by focusing on the example of personal social services provision by local authorities in the UK. Specifically it explores the evolving relationship between these authorities and voluntary and non‐profit organizations. It does so by using the models of markets, hierarchies and clans with which to examine the implications of different modes of service coordination. The paper argues that this is an important approach for helping us to understand the evolving nature of the management of plural public services in the UK.