Translating reform—the rise and fall of social investment practices in Swedish local government

This article explores the rise and fall of social investment (SI) practices in Swedish local government to examine how public-sector reforms are enacted—and undone—in practice. While SI initially promised more preventive, evidence-based and cost-efficient welfare, its local implementation through SI Funds (SIFs) reveals a more complex story. Based on a decade of ethnographically informed research, the study traces how SI was popularized in the early 2010s, supported by national networks, consultants, and policy entrepreneurs. However, despite early enthusiasm, most SIFs were dissolved within a few years, leaving little appetent institutional trace. The article argues that public-sector reforms do not simply unfold through political endorsement or formal adoption; they must be continually translated into workable practices by local actors. These translations rely on fragile assemblages of people, resources, and legitimacy. Once these assemblages disintegrate, reforms collapse—not due to conceptual failure, but due to organizational fatigue, shifting priorities, and loss of support structures. The Swedish SI case thus offers broader insights into why some reform efforts endure while others dissolve. It highlights the contingent, negotiated, and ephemeral nature of public-sector change initiatives, contributing to scholarship on not only SI but also reform dynamics and the politics of implementation in contemporary governance.