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Governing by norms: this is basically what characterizes neo-liberal governmentality. This strategy has the advantage of implementing two major principles of liberal thinking: firstly, making as few decisions as possible, even if it means regulating conduct; and secondly, seeking the adhesion of actors by producing their autonomy. This invites us to look more closely at what is meant by the notion of norm in this new context where governing free individuals as little as possible forms the very heart of policy. Our hypothesis is that it is more a question of norms aimed at producing normativity as a general principle of limited governmentality than of a normalizing norm based on a traditional conception of the law that sanctions deviant forms of behavior. We propose to apply this conception of a normativity that encourages more than it sanctions to social work, drawing on two examples: the logic of the project as it is formalized in training programmes and tends to be imposed in professional practices, and those aspects of the law 2002-2 that promote practices for evaluating establishments and services. Far from wishing to be sharply critical, we hope to reintroduce a debate which draws attention to the conflictuality inherent to every intersubjective relationship and the necessary place of a democratic dimension within it.