Sue Olney
There's a broad consensus that the NLP's loss in Queensland and rumours of a leadership challenge can be sheeted back to poor policy choices by both governments. Below, a timely piece from Paul Cairney (@Cairneypaul) on whether personal beliefs can in fact be separated from facts when making policy. Paul Cairney is Professor of Politics and Public Policy at the University of Stirling.
This piece originally featured on Paul's personal Blog.
Read MoreThis case study explains how I used an outcomes framework to help design an Indigenous youth program.
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 the first of three case studies I will be posting about evaluation this week.
Read MoreThis week is all about practical case studies in evaluation. In particular, this week is all about how I do on-the-ground evaluations with programs.
Read MoreBelow, CEO of the Council to Homeless Persons (@cphVIC) provides CPH's perspectives on the short and longterm challenges of tackling homelessness in Victoria for the incoming government
Read MoreThe Harper Review proposed increased competition in the social services sector. Below, Vin Martin & Dennis Fitzgerald from Catholic Social Services Australia respond.
Read MoreWe've run a few pieces this year on the impact/outcome funding debate. James Rees has run a three part piece (part 3 still to come) on different aspects of the impact agenda, including possible pitfalls and how one might differentiate the contribution of community-based organisations within such an agenda. Fiona Buick, Pauline McLoughlin and I also wrote piece on the potential benefits of outcomes based funding. Impact and outcome tend to get a little tangled up in these discussions. Below, Andrew Harding does a little disentangling. Andrew Harding is undertaking a doctoral research project at Bournemouth University with Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC). This piece first appeared on the LSE Impact Blog
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 MoreIn a recent blog post, Dr Gemma Carey of Australian National University discusses the challenges inherent in the current policy formation process – including the outsourcing of government functions to a range of non-governmental agencies, the increased complexity of ‘wicked’ social problems, and the chaotic and opportunistic policy process itself. In this follow-up article, Dr Kathy Landvogt and Susan Maury, both of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, explain how The Power to Persuade responds to this policy milieu.
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 MoreIn this post to mark Social Inclusion Week (Nov 22-30), Chris Stone writes that new integrated approaches to the complex issue of youth homelessness is offering hope for young people and communities.
Read MoreIn the lead up to 2013 federal election, NACCHO (the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation) developed a comprehensive social media/Twitter based political campaign built around the simple key message that “Investing in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health makes economic sense”.
Colin Cowell was NACCHO’s National Communications and Media Advisor from 2012-2014. In the post below he outlines the aims and impact of that campaign. Chosen earlier this year as Radio National's Twitterati of the Week, he also offers '8 tips for tweeting your next health event' and some key questions to consider to guide your social media efforts.
Read MoreWhat is it about a discourse that conjures up "archaic days of cardigan wearing, typewriter tapping, pen pushing public servants" who are resistant to change? Public policy adviser and lecturer Maria Katsonis looks to the past and the future to speak in defence of the 21st century public servant.
Read MoreThe G20 forum closed in Australia on Sunday, with agreements to close multinational tax loopholes, boost growth and infrastructure spending, improve trade, step up climate change action, strengthen banks, and better respond to the Ebola outbreak in west Africa.
The G20 brought with it a number of partner meetings, which have delivered their responses to the official communique: See the statements from L20 (labour) and B20 (business).
See below for the full statement from the C20 (or ‘Civil Society 20’).
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 MoreThe push to collaborate has increased the complexity of the policy-making and policy-implementation processes.
To collaborate effectively, the right supports and platforms are necessary. In this post, Dr Gemma Carey from Australian National University reflects on this problem, and what she and others are doing to remedy it.
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 MoreIn today's post, Kate Hauser, Health Promotion Worker at Women’s Health West, the women’s health service for the western metropolitan region of Melbourne, explores the implications of VicHealth's recently released National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey.
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