Abstract
The social care sector is facing a wide range of challenges after years of underfunding and growing demand. Attempts to reform social care have had limited success. Multiple actors are involved in the commissioning and delivery of social care. However, it can be difficult to characterize this complexity in an accessible way that encourages a focus on improved outcomes for people accessing care and support.
The ecosystem concept offers a route for policymakers and practitioners to engage with complexity. An ecosystem is framed as an ecological metaphor where the well-being of the whole depends on how well the constituent parts of the ecosystem interact with one another. The ecosystem encompasses multiple groups of intersecting actors which directs us to think about the associations and relationships in the ecosystem and to appreciate the importance of relational approaches that span institutional boundaries.
Applying the metaphor to the social care system draws out discussions on emergence and the role of ecosystem architects whose relational approaches can influence how the ecosystem functions. We discuss how policymakers and practitioners can apply the ecosystem concept and establish that this frame can promote whole system thinking. The metaphor emphasizes the connections between actors and organizations without leading to a sense of overwhelm and fatalism.