Personalisation, ambiguity and conflict: Matland’s model of policy implementation and the ‘transformation’ of adult social care in England

The article draws on Matland’s (1995) modelling of policy implementation to investigate the personalisation of adult social care in England. The shift from policy formation to enactment by local authorities is linked to a move from ‘symbolic’ to ‘political’ implementation. Successive studies, however, highlight certain enduring features of local authorities as sites of contradiction and dissent in adult social care, particularly on the frontline. Taking these into account arguably permits a closer analysis of the dynamics of power at work in the implementation of the personalisation agenda as well as enriching our understanding of the nature of political implementation.