I was fortunate to chair Day Two of The Conversation\ Informa ‘Future of Welfare’ conference on October 31st. It showcased what is emerging as a brave new world of social policy research and advocacy in Australia. As Labor MP Jenny Macklin observed in the concluding address to the conference: social policy is no longer ‘the Poor Cousin’ to economic policy in the Australian political scene. What struck me as distinctive features of this brave new world?
Read MoreSupporting people into paid work has many positive benefits, but are current 'earn or learn' policies in regards to young people going to help or hinder their economic participation? In this post, Tanya Corrie and Susan Maury from Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand reflect on what the evidence says, and ways policy can be built to enable better outcomes.
Read MoreI know it's the question that keeps you awake at night...'If I were a program evaluation' you think to yourself, 'what kind would I be?'
Read MoreThe 2014 Power to Persuade Symposium was held in Melbourne on the 16th of September. One of our afternoon sessions, ‘Practical Strategies for Implementation’ focussed on a participatory workshop process, where the symposium attendees were asked to reflect on their work. This article summarises the key themes that arose from this workshop process.
Read MoreThe LSE Impact Blog knows the secret to brightening any Monday...a bit of neoliberalism and Big Data.
A range of social actors are pushing for Open Government Data, from open research advocates to the private sector, resulting in a complex and contested landscape. Jo Bates examines recent developments on how the government have been able to use the rhetoric of transparency for political ends, paving the way for the implementation of long term austerity. She argues we cannot make assumptions about the benefits of ‘openness’ and must continue to revisit the data infrastructure and governance framework.
Read MoreCynicism has been creeping into debates over evidence-based policy. We've certainly noticed this in the last two PTP symposiums, with speakers urging a more realistic adoption of 'informed policy'. Below,Kathryn Oliver, Simon Innvær, Theo Lorenc, Jenny Woodman, andJames Thomas examine some of the on-going barriers to evidence-based (and even evidence-informed) policy. This post originally appeared on the LSE Impact Blog.
Read MoreDr James Rees (@JamesRees_tsrc) from the Third Sector Research Centre examines the challenges of emerging 'impact agendas' with regard to funding community sector organisations. This is the second of three blog posts from James which tackle different aspects of this issue.Part one, Taming the monster', examined the value add of the community sector in service delivery and policy implementation.
Read MoreThis post originally appeared on Professor Christina Boswell's personal blog, but we felt it was highly relevant in Australia particularly given the recently announced review of the ARC's Cooperative Research Centre program. Christina in a Professor of Politics at the University of Edinburgh, her research explores the use of knowledge in policymaking and politics.
Read MoreWhen we think about policy and politics, we tend to gravitate to the elite - concentrating on the efforts of a select few in shaping the process. In today's post, Dr Kemran Mestan provides a timely reminder to not lose sight of policy effects.
Kemran is a senior research officer at La Trobe University, you can read more about his research here.
Read MorePolicy that targets those groups most in need is the fairest way to distribute limited resources, right? Not necessarily, writes Dr Gemma Carey.
Read MoreWhat happens when outsourced contractors are no longer able or willing to continue with the provision of public services? In this post below from the London School of Economics and Political Science blog British Politics and Policy, Bob Hudson explores the downsides of outsourcing public services and writes that public services should be seen as something more than a contract put out to the market to secure ‘value for money’.
Read MoreIn his latest Social Policy Whisperer column below, Prof. Paul Smyth from the University of Melbourne says we should not be looking for advice on the future of our social services from a quasi market perspective.
Read MoreThe 21st Century Public Servant project is examining the major changes occurring for public servants and the concomitant skill and knowledge base required to adjust to them. These include cuts to budgets, increased localisation, greater demands for service user voice and control, increased public expectations and a mixed economy of welfare provision. The project builds on the findings of the 2011 University of Birmingham Policy Commission into the ‘Future of Local Public Services’ which identified the need to pay attention to the changing roles undertaken by public servants and the associated support and development needs.It is a Knowledge Exchange project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council in partnership with Birmingham City Council.
This year, Associate Professor Helen Dickinson (@drhdickinson) and Professor Helen Sullivan (@helenCsullivan) from the Melbourne School of Government have been conducting a number of interviews in Australia exploring similar issues to the English project. Below, Helen provides some early reflections from this analysis (first published on the 21C blog). Their findings suggest that soft skills (communication, brokering and so on) are increasingly critical for an effective public sector.
Read MoreIn many fields, from healthcare to social policy, we are experiencing a renaissance when it comes to embracing the ‘messy’. ‘Systems thinking’ – where we learn to look beyond objects to embrace the relationships between them and the messy ‘whole’ they create – has seen significant advances in recent years, particularly in relation to how we can extend these concepts from the natural sciences to explore social problems, such as obesity, crime and tobacco control. Below, a real life story of what systems thinking can bring to public policy provided by Joseph A. Curtatone and Mark Esposito (and first shared on the LSE Impact Blog). For more on systems thinking check out 'Systems Change' and 'Thinking in Systems'.
Read MoreAt this year's Power to Persuade Symposium, we looked at the role of data vs anecdote in influencing policy. Prof Richard Madden, from Sydney University, reminded us that statistics also have a good story to tell if we are only prepared to listen...
Read MoreCommunity legal centres are dealing funding cuts and restrictions on advocacy that could have serious ramifications for access to justice for vulnerable people across the country.Carolyn Bond AO, national spokesperson for the Community Law Australia (@CommunityLawAus) access to justice campaign, outlines the changes and explains their likely impact on access to justice, freedom of speech and the development of sound justice policies.
Read MoreWhere is the voice of the consumer when it comes to opening up markets and enabling greater 'choice'? Following on from Paul Smyth's critique of the Harper Review, @gerardbrody from @consumer_action considers the limitations of competition and market theories as they apply to consumer behaviour, and the distinct lack of voice of consumers in the review.
Read MoreReviewing the health of the social sectors requires an appreciation of social work, political science and sociology theories. Why then , is it left in the hands of economists? Social Policy Whisperer, Prof Paul Smyth, shares his reflections on the Competition Policy Review.
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