Researchers 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 MoreResearchers Dr Gemma Carey (@gemcarey) and Brad Crammond have interviewed a range of politicians, senior past and present bureaucrats, government advisors and lobbyists to find ways to break down barriers between sectors, close research practice gaps and create policy change. Their report was released this week at a research forum hosted by the national Social Determinants of Health Alliance (SDOHA).
Read MoreJulia Unwin, CEO of the United Kingdom's Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) visited Australia in May 2014 as a guest of the Reichstein Foundation. For the trip, she released a discussion paper on Poverty inequality and a modern social contract relevant for a changing world. We thank her for permission to publish this excerpt from the paper, titled: Achieving social change.
Read MoreThere are more civil society organizations in the world today than at any other time in history. Then why, asks United States writer and activist Michael Edwards*, isn't their impact growing?
Read MoreRegulation and red tape are often held up as barriers to productivity and and innovation. Yet the benefits of good regulation that afford protection for consumers are many. Gerard Brody, CEO of Consumer Action Law Centre, explores the implications of the Federal Government's commitment to reduce the "regulatory burden" on business by $1 billion each year.
Read MoreThe McClure report and other research has suggested that income management may be helpful to some, and for others it does not necessarily make things worse. In light of the 'budget emergency,' David Tennant, CEO of Family Care, questions the logic of income management in light of this, and the pitfalls and challenges for the people in his community who are subject to it.
Read MoreIs the McClure report Mark II just another attempt to solve an ideological problem that has never existed? In this post, Professor David Haywood, Dean of the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT discusses the misnomer of welfare dependency and the tendency of history to repeat itself.
Read MoreThere is a lot at stake in how the community sector positions itself in response to its changing environment. Many, including Tony Nicholson from the Brotherhood of St Laurence, are concerned that the sector will lose its connection to community because of its increasing professionalisation and contracting to government. This was expressed in a recent speech he made about the future of the welfare sector. However, as Helen Dickenson (@drhdickinson), Assoc. Prof with the Melbourne School of Government notes, this is not a new problem. The sector has grappled with its relationship to the state for some time. In order for the sector to not become ‘policy victims’, they must stop finger pointing to negotiate their role
Read MoreIt is vital that those impacted by policies are given the opportunity to express their needs and have a voice in the policy process. This is often easier said than done. In this post, Tanya Corrie from Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service reflects on what this means for those who are financially excluded andwho access the fringe lending market. While regulation is imperative, Tanya also notes it is important to understand the underlying, cultural reasons that people prefer to 'pay their own way' rather than 'accept charity' and why this is such an emotive proposition.
Read More'Every Australian Counts' is the memorable mantra of the citizens' campaign for the NDIS. It speaks volumes about the public demand for a radical change in the delivery of disability care. The promise of the NDIS is to have an inclusive, person-centred care scheme, capable of redressing the 'lottery' of patchy support systems provided by State and Territory governments. As the first stages of implementation unfold, it is more important than ever that the NDIS is in a position to deliver true policy innovation.
In this article, our social policy expert Professor David Hayward, Dean of the RMIT School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, reflects on two vexed aspects of the NDIS - privatisation and funding uncertainty - that merit attention from policymakers and disability advocates.
Read MoreThere is a lot of rhetoric about putting civil society at the centre of policy decision-making. But policy actions over the past 40 years suggest that there is still a way to go in achieving this in practice. In the second of our NDIS-themed articles this week, Dr Simon Duffy (@simonjduffy) of The Centre for Welfare,
Read MoreIt has taken many years for Australia to introduce a social insurance scheme to support the needs of people with a disability. One year on into the introduction of the NDIS in trial sites across Australia, a parliamentary inquiry has highlighted a number of implementation challenges. In ensuring that the needs of people with a disability and their families are met by this scheme, it is crucial that the key policy challenges facing the scheme are both recognised and addressed.
In the first of our NDIS themed articles this week, Claire Hjorth Watson, PhD Candidate at the University of Melbourne, reflects on the need to put people and care relationships at the centre of NDIS policy frameworks.
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In a Melbourne School of Government Seminar last week, Helen Dickinson (@drhdickinson) commented on the growth of economic rationalism in Australian policy, and how economic reasoning seems to be expanding into other areas of public and social policy at a much quicker rate than in other countries. In this fortnight's piece, Prof Paul Smyth draws attention to the ways in which economic reasoning is creeping into social policy and social services reform
Read MoreLast week was the National ACOSS Conference, held in Brisbane. The ACOSS annual conference is always an important date in the calendar, but this year it was more important than ever to bring the sector together, reinforce values and plan for action. Below, John van Kooy (@jvank00y) provides a wrap up of the key themes and ideas to emerge from the event.
Read MoreIn this post, Kathy Landvogt from Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service (@goodadvocacy) provides another perspective on the 2014 ACOSS Conference.
Read MoreThe Shergold review of social services has put outcomes based funding back on the table. Below, Simon Smith from Wesley Mission Victoria unpacks what lies behind interest in 'outcomes based funding' and what it might mean for program delivery.
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In this legal perspective on the proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act, Rik Sutherland from St Vincent de Paul deconstructs the arguments on both sides and suggests a way to move beyond entrenched positions.
Read MoreShock waves from the Abbott government’s first budget continue to reverberate. Below, Bruce Duncan provides another lens - that of Catholic social teaching. Analysis at the ACOSS Conference this week is echoing Bruce Duncan’s critique: the harsh measures are neither warranted nor healthy for civil society.
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