Among the Nordic countries (and together with Norway) long term care policies in Denmark are the most universalist in terms of coverage; further, in contrast to the other Nordic countries, Denmark combines institutional change from below (non-legislative changes) with institutional change from above (legislative changes). The paper describes these changes, that have been oriented towards a marketisation and a better tailoring of services to individual needs. Taken together these lead to contradictory developments towards both standardisation and flexibility. The analysis will show how innovation has two, potentially contradictory sides: it is concerned with both «securing » and «extending» the welfare rights of citizens and therefore encompasses both measures of control and measures of free choice.only subscribers can see the full article