The process of representing a malleable idea via a set of metricised indicators involves simplification and stabilisation, both of which risk disrupting the fragile coalitions that malleability enables. However, these same qualities make inclusive growth challenging to operationalise, especially in governance settings dominated by metrics. These characteristics are helpful in achieving alliances, both within policy organisations and between these organisations and their multiple stakeholders. Drawing on 51 semi‐structured interviews, documentary analysis and policy ethnography, we argue that inclusive growth is a classic ‘chameleonic idea’, strategically imbued with malleable qualities that serve to obscure substantive, unresolved tensions. Here, we explore how three UK policy organisations (a devolved national government, a city region combined authority, and a local council) are pursuing inclusive growth goals. Advocates of inclusive growth claim it provides policymakers with a means of combining economic success with social inclusivity, making it highly attractive across a wide range of settings.
