The Impact of Managerialism on Nonprofit Organizations Serving People Experiencing Houselessness in the United States

The concept of managerialism as it relates to the field of human services has garnered increased attention from researchers in recent years. Understood as the “dominance of management practices and ideas derived in the for-profit sector”, managerialism is widely embraced within the nonprofit sector in the United States. Despite increased attention to the role and impact of managerialism within human services, theoretical and empirical research examining the operationalization of managerialism within human service organizations remains limited. In the field of homeless services specifically, little is known about how managerialist ideology and practice affect the provision of services within organizations serving unhoused populations. This paper examines the role and impact of managerialism on the organizational functioning of a large homeless services agency located in a major metropolitan area of the United States. The specific ways managerialism is operationalized within this organization are examined. Further, the impact of managerialist ideology and practice on the organization’s ability to work successfully toward its mission of eradicating homelessness is discussed. In doing so, this paper suggests that managerialist approaches to providing homeless services may impede an organization’s ability to meet its goals and mission in ways that align with institutional logics more commonly associated with human service organizations and the nonprofit sector more generally.