Contemporary social science research concerning authority ends to take an institutional perspective that privileges structural analysis. The resulting body of literature has an emphasis on classification, typologies and regimes. This approach has been criticized on the basis that it neglects the role of department and context when research concerns complex and heterogeneous community authority cases. An emerging literature on hybridized in social services aims to address the limitations of structural accounts by acknowledging that diverse logics, ideas, and norms influence the way community based social services resist or adapt in turbulent policy environments. This article considers the strengths and limitations of hybridized in development of a research frame working corporation structure, department and ideas. The relevance of hybridized philosophy for the Kids in Communities study—an Australian research project investigating neighbourhood influences on child development across multiple case study sites is evaluated.