Values and Experience of Neoliberal Reforms in Russian Regions: Dilemmas of Social Management

The article offers a critical look at the challenges emerging within reforms of social services sector in Russian regions carried out line with New Public Management (NPM) principles. These imply not only renewal management tools, but also changes cultural level. In this regard, study is aimed identifying how managers explain need for transition to new relations, what tools they have, and value contradictions arise field decision-making on issues reforming system practice management. based analysis semi-structured interviews regional administrators various legal forms. While sharing values applying management, leaders sphere face internal doctrine. Customer focus initiative are easy reconcile efficiency requirements; decentralization does negate close control, quality difficult maintain rationalized environment. Nevertheless, discourses budget saving humanization do always contradict each other, strive reach compromise between different logics relationship state, organization, employee, client. shows specific often multi-vector perspectives administrators, as well municipal non-profit organizations — providers services. Under pressure challenge efficiency, forced deal conflicting tasks: one hand, increase competition market outsource part guaranteed by other support their budgetary organizations. neo-managerialism affect personnel policy, content service itself. Managers nonprofit sometimes find themselves situation choice rationalizing, increasing resources, humanizing services, other. Building horizontal ties associations allows receive represent collective interests before protection from excessive control bureaucratic apparatus. Acknowledgements. This an output research project implemented Basic Research Program National University Higher School Economics (HSE University). authors thank staff Moscow Skolkovo Agency Strategic Initiatives help organizing access study, participating collection data discussing first results work, express gratitude collocutors open honest conversation.