Framtidens välfärd att vinna – analys av handlingsstrategier för engagerade välfärdsanställda

Sammanfattning: In contemporary Sweden, welfare professionals are mobilising to signal that they lack the preconditions to carry out their work in line with the politically stated mission and professional ethics. Following a seminar in which welfare professionals shared their views on the working conditions, this study explores action strategies for welfare professionals who seek to influence the policy agenda. The study is inspired by action research, and grounded in an interpretive approach. By integrating critical views of Chantal Mouffe, policy discourse analysis, the multiple streams framework and strategies of policy entrepreneurs – a theoretical framework is developed. This is used to analyse interviews with panellists from the previously mentioned seminar: A nurse, a teacher and a part-time social worker, part-time union secretary. Secondly, material from three contentious mobilisations is analysed. The analysis suggests that welfare professionals collectively frame problems through the mobilisations and receive attention in the political stream. Presence in the policy stream is weaker. Thus, making use of the resources of the unions is suggested to enhance participation. Another proposal is to utilize a re-issuing strategy, to push for new governing models grounded in professional ethics and care. Lastly, the need for a broader movement is suggested, in order to change the dominant discursive order. One possible strategy is to articulate a movement that links different occupational groups working within welfare services.