With more conferences and events happening each year, deciding on where to share your practice and research findings and where to seek professional development is challenging. It can help to know more about key conferences and how they may inform your work or be a vehicle to share your insights. In this post, Sue Olney (@olney_sue) gives us an overview of the International Research Society of Public Management Conference, and provides some highlights as well as links to interesting sessions
Read MoreFor the uninitiated and even for those well established in the world of social policy, understanding the exact meaning of terms and how to use them precisely can stop you in your tracks and drive you to google.
Read MoreSubtle policy changes, such as changes to indexation rules, competition, and payments to providers, can be similar to direct attacks on public provision. Dr Ben Spies-Butcher (@SensibleBSB) looks at the example of the 'unwinding' of Australia's universal health system.
Read MoreThe transport and planning policies routinely touted by politicians won’t equip Australian cities to cope with projected growth. In this post, Dr Alan Davies (@MelbUrbanist) argues that much more fundamental, but politically difficult, actions are needed.
This article was first posted on Crikey's Urbanist blog on April 1, 2015.
Read MoreAusterity measures implemented across the OECD have led to substantial cuts to overseas aid and development budgets. In this post, Dr David Lansley discusses the opportunity this presents for international NGOs (INGOs) to rethink how they do development, by providing evidence of what works, contributing to national policies, and seeking innovative ways of combining public and private sector investment.
Read MoreDefining collaborative working and partnerships is a challenge, and was a central topic for discussion at the recent International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM) Conference held in Birmingham on 30 March 2014. In this post, Paula Karlsson from Glasgow Caledonian University shares her reflections on understanding collaboration and what it means in practice. While it is a challenge, it is one that many across sectors are grappling with.
Read MoreMine was not the only heart warmed by the recent public celebrations of the grand contributions of Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser to building a greater Australia. In tune with their era they understood the vital roles of democracy and social policy alongside the mixed economy in building a good society. And I will not be the only one frustrated by the grotesque banalities of the recommendations for ‘human services’ in Ian Harper’s - back to Hilmer!’ (1995) - report on competition policy. It is irretrievably locked in a market utopian policy time warp
Read MoreThe brief essay below is by Professor Geoff Gallop part of an exciting and important new collection from Australia21 "Who speaks for and protects the public interest in Australia? Essays by notable Australians”.
Read MoreFollowing on from our post last week, below Jon Altman offers his thoughts on Indigenous Work for the Dole policies. Jon Altman is an emeritus professor of the Australian National University based at the Regulatory Institutions Network (RegNet), College of Asia and the Pacific, ANU. From 1990–2010 he was foundation director of the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research.
Read MorePolitical slogans and robotic talking points should be of no interest and deliver no benefit to the public, says former federal department head Paul Barratt in this short essay. He calls for a new focus on an authentic notion of public interest, which requires:
Read MorePrime Minister Tony Abbott recently shocked and dismayed Indigenous communities and leaders with his "lifestyle choice" comments supporting the closure of up to 150 remote Indigenous communities in Western Australia - and galvanised the #SOSBlakAustralia protests on Twitter, Facebook and real life.
Legal academic Kate Galloway says his comments should also serve as a wake up call to universities and for academics in all disciplines, and particularly lawyers who are at the frontline of justice and law making.
Read MoreWe've had a sniff of debate in recent weeks about negative gearing and what its abolition could mean to government revenue and housing affordability. Yet at election times, writes Terry Burke, housing problems get no political traction.
Read MoreThinking good thoughts isn’t enough. Chris Mullin, Deputy Director, of the UK Govenrment Cabinet Office’s Implementation Unit, describes how he and his colleagues are working with departments to get things done. This piece was first published on the UK Gov's Civil Service Quarterly blog.
Read MoreToday's post is from Catherine Needham and Catherine Mangan and was first published on the 21st Century Public Servant blog.
The report highlights themes within the research and Catherine and Catherine highlight some here.
Read MoreThe McClure Review provides us with the opportunity to 'upgrade' the welfare policy debate and start to genuinely frame welfare as social investment. Prof. Paul Smyth explores that there needs to be a real understanding of what welfare as investment actually means, with the right social policy nous and frameworks to ensure it is not another punitive measure to individualise social policy problems.
Read MoreSpeeding up the “evolution” of policy could help promote the survival of the fittest in policy solutions, argues Stephen Muers, Director, Sentencing and Rehabilitation, Ministry of Justice, United Kingdom, in this post originally published on Civil Service Quarterly.
Read MorePublic service professions have lagged behind the medical profession in using empirical evidence to guide decision making. David Halpern, National Adviser on What Works & CEO of Behavioural Insights Team, explains how the emergence of ‘What Works Centres’ can change this, and outlines the case for ‘radical incrementalism’.
Read MoreStrategic 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 MoreThere is a noticeable shift from purely profit-driven capitalism towards the notion of an 'integrated social citizen.' The founder of Pro Bono Australia, Karen Mahlab, sees it happening in Australia and around the world. This post first appeared on the Open Forum blog.
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