Reflections on in Control
John O’Brien & David Towell
Aug. 2007
In Control as social acupuncture
What has worked for people
What is right
What is likely to transform social care
Learning from history
Multiple strategies
What form of organization will facilitate deep change?
A distinctive structure
Weaving into other’s webs
Strong metaphors for organizing
We write as critical friends, invited by in Control’s leadership to facilitate reflection on the learning emerging from their work and to contribute some of our observations to this report. In Control’s commitment to discovering effective ways to support people eligible for social care in ways that protect and promote their full citizenship matches our own convictions. Self-directed supports –the means that the in Control network are developing to reform the social care system– seem to us a robust and creative response to many of the challenges facing the government of a society that aims to improve the life chances of people who require publicly funded assistance to lead their daily lives.
