Following performative imaginations : Social enterprises, policy networks, and reforming primary education in Bangladesh

Drawing upon research in Bangladesh, we highlight the role of “imagination” in the way policy networks pursued social entrepreneurial reforms within primary education and NGO sectors. Applying a cultural globalisation lens to network ethnography as method, we found such pre-emptive “imaginations” to be performative insofar as key network actors mentally constructed locally governable worlds of policy as a part of their day-to-day work. These actors worked in and after their imaginations by mentally scripting policy problems and reform solutions in terms of imagined governable communities, reform aspirations, and dedicated discourses. Exemplifying and institutionalising reforms even partially, these actors mentally navigated webs of actions, practices, logics, relationships, resources, and other actors. Analysing interview data and documents we investigated three policy networks.