Strategic participation in international legal processes can be extremely valuable for NGOs undertaking policy and law reform work. The Universal Periodic Review, a process of the United Nations Human Rights Council, is one method by which Australia’s human rights record is assessed on the international stage. Internationally and in Australia, the UPR is proving to be a useful mechanism for NGOs to engage with governments on issues of human rights and related law and policy. Anna Lyons, Senior Lawyer at Justice Connect Homeless Law explains.
Read MoreThe arts are a great tool for connecting the community to policy making processes. Both communities and policy makers find artistic processes fun and engaging. If used correctly, artistic process can help communities manage the way their issues are presented to the wider community. It can also complement more traditional community engagement and research methods, adding depth and shine.
Zoe Dawkins from Storyscape Consulting discusses her experiences in using the arts as a tool to connect communities to people of influence.
Read MoreIn this case study we talk about how we used digital storytelling in a longitudinal evaluation of a school-based orchestral music program.
Read MoreThis is an excerpt from a talk given last night to Social Policy Connections AGM by Dr Paul Smyth (full paper will shortly be available on the SPC website http://www.socialpolicyconnections.com.au/ ). It is a call to action for faith-based organisations and advocates, to come out unequivocally and assertively with the message that the Good Society is created in spaces and through narratives that the weakening PaleoLiberal rationale cannot reach or answer.
Read MoreComplexity and systems science is getting a lot of interest in public policy, and related areas such as public health. But how well does it fit with existing public sector accountability structures? Below, Paul Cairney explores these issues in the UK context. This post originally appeared on his personal blog. Paul is a Professor of Politics and Public Policy at the University of Stirling, you can follow him on twitter at @Cairneypaul.
Read MoreDuncan Green, strategic adviser for Oxfam GB and author of ‘From Poverty to Power’ offers some tips, observations and concerns about 'Doing Development Differently' that are likely to strike a chord for readers in the social and health sectors too.
Thanks to Duncan for permission to republish the article, originally published on his blog.
Read MoreDr Leon Terrill is a lecturer in the UNSW Law School and a Fellow of the Indigenous Law Centre (ILC). He outlines how Federal Government cuts tofunding mean the ILC is seeking community support to continue its important work – including the only two Indigenous-specific law journals published in Australia .It is rare for a week to go by in Australia without some Indigenous legal issue making the news. Just this week examples include the introduction of Koori Youth Courts in NSW, native title negotiations in Queensland, reforms to land rights in the Northern Territory and Constitutional recognition in Western Australia and at a national level. Complex issues, right? Complex and significant, which is why community legal education is so important.
Read MoreLast year saw the establishment of the Australian Social Determinants of Health Alliance (SDOHA) (now with over sixty organisational members) and the release of the final report from the Senate Inquiry into the Social Determinants of Health. The ‘social determinants of health’ is simply another name for the type of social problems the community sector works to address every day, such as housing, income insecurity, poor access to education and disadvantage. Public health research has shown that these social issues are the primary cause of health problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Socioeconomic position can predict who develops and eventually succumbs to heart disease, diabetes, respiratory disease and particular cancers. These findings have given us new allies in the fight to see policies that reduce, not expand, social inequalities.
Below, Melanie Walker, SDOHA Manager and Deputy CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia, reports on the recent activities of SDOHA (@sdohalliance), including their National Press Club Address and Research Forum progress Social Determinants of Health goals.
Read More
If renting is to be a legitimate, appropriate and long term housing option for those who choose it, then our laws and culture should reflect this. James Bennett, Policy & Liaison Worker at the Tenants Union of Victoria, unpacks what this means in practice, and shows how rights-based advocacy for individual tenants is able to achieve policy change through impacting on legal determinations.
Read MoreThe Lowy Institute published an important and attention-grabbing analysis today: Violence against women in PNG: How men are getting away with murder. Written by award-winning freelance Australian journalist, author and editor Jo Chandler, it’s not your standard form of thinktank analysis. Instead it takes the form of an essay or long piece journalism.
Read MoreAs anyone with a stake in social policy change knows well, the media can play a big role in generating the ‘power to persuade’ – making the case for change in a way that moves the public, policy makers, and politicians.
Read MoreThe “business as usual” lobbies are co-ordinated, cashed up and have a highly sophisticated mechanism to spring into action whenever a whiff of reform is in the air, writes Emeritus Professor Robert Douglas from the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at Australian National University in this piece from The Conversation.
Looking at "kitchen table" initiatives from the past and present, he asks whether Australia needs a new non-government structure to coordinate debate and act on a range of pressing issues in the public interest.
Read MoreThis innovative advocacy project, documented here by one of the project initiators Denis Nelthorpe of Footscray Community Legal Centre, demonstrates how strategic and collective organization of individual casework can bring about systemic change in the culture of corporate institutions and lay the groundwork for regulatory reforms.
Read MoreThe Australian Institute for Health and Welfare (AIHW) provides a critical evidence base and statistical analysis of the Australian population, helping to develop policy and strategies for the state and federal governments. In the recent budget, AIHW was ear-marked for merger into a new super agency the 'Health Productivity and Performance Commission' (along with Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, Independent Hospitals Pricing Authority, National Health Funding Body, National Health Funding Pool Administrator and National Health Performance Authority). While details are scant, the absence of 'welfare' from the title of this governing body and inclusion of 'productivity' is ominous.
Read MoreDavid Hayward from RMIT University answers some questions about how to influence policy, the use of research, and the importance of understanding the process.
Read MoreThe role of the academic humanist has always been a public one – however mediated through teaching and publication, argues Tim Hitchcock. As a central means to participate in public conversations, Twitter and blogging just make good academic sense. Hitchcock looks at how these new platforms are facilitating academic collaboration, teaching and public engagement. What starts as a blog, ends as an academic output, and an output with a ready-made audience, eager to cite it.
Read MoreOne of the tasks we set ourselves at PTP was articulating the value each of us sees, from our own sectoral vantage points, of creating a space to talk about policy processes. Today, Dr Kathy Landvogt shares her views on working on process (not just issue or topic) and how PTP has extended the work of her team, while strengthening their original mandate.
Read MoreGeoff Aigner is the director of Social Leadership Australia (@leadership_SLA). As part of the Benevolent Society Social Leadership Australia draws on best practice leadership thinking and techniques with social insights. You can check out their highly regarded leadership program here.
Read MoreResearchers often bemoan the beatups in the media about their work, yet a recent UK study shows that many university press releases exaggerate or hype research findings or made them more determinist. UK scientist and blogger Alasdair Taylor looks at the risks of "churnalism" and asks in the wake of a recent conference: can scientists themselves offer the needed reflection on their research that an investigative journalist might do?
Read More