“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Almost 300 years later, this proverbial insight by Benjamin Franklin has lost none of its pertinence. On the contrary: in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia we want to show not only that preventative policy pays off in Benjamin Franklin’s sense, but that prevention can help us to avoid social follow-up costs. This post is by Hannelore Kraft is premier of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and first appeared on the Policy Network.
Read MoreThe 'new' nanny trial has been hailed as a solution for flexible child care by the Federal government. But is it a solution and for whom? What do children, families and nannies need to make this 'solution' work well? Our guest today, Elizabeth Adamson (@eama221) from the Social Policy Research Centre, explores these issues as she takes us through details of the nanny trial.
Read MoreCare work, whether paid or unpaid, remains disproportionately carried out by women. With more and more women participating in the paid workforce and working non-standard hours alongside men, a care crisis has emerged globally. Who is caring for those that need it now? Who will provide care in the future? In this guest post, Emeritus Professor Fiona Williams from the University of Leeds explains the 'chains and drains' of global care and presents some alternative policy solutions that favour gender equity and workers' rights.
Read MoreIn its fourth successful year, Power to Persuade’s (PTP) annual symposium is not only going national but is also branching out to include a forum on gender and contemporary policy. Headed up by Lara Corr (@corr_lara), a gender inequity focused public health and social policy scholar, alongside Gemma Carey and Kathy Landvogt (co-directors of PTP), this ground-breaking forum will hit the big issues of how women and policy mix (or don’t) in the current policy climate. Beyond that, the forum, which will be known as PTP:Gender, will explore how to do policy differently by taking a feminist perspective. Save the date for the 17th September, 9-3.30pm, Australian National University, Canberra
Read MoreWhere does evidence stand in the war on ideas within government? What are the barriers to evidence-based policy-making and what does a strategic, innovative, evidence-based policy system look like when you’ve got one?
Read More‘This post comes from Oxfam’s James Whitehead (on Twitter @james_whitehead) via From Poverty to Power, the blog written and maintained by Duncan Green (@fp2p), strategic adviser for Oxfam Great Britain and author of ‘From Poverty to Power’.
Read MoreDr Melissa Stoneham and her colleagues at the Public Health Advocacy Institute WA (PHAIWA) at Curtin University last year looked at the portrayal of Indigenous health in selected Australian media. Their findings were not just valuable for media outlets but for people and organisations working in research, policy development and advocacy.
Read MoreIn his latest Social Policy Whisperer column below, Prof. Paul Smyth from the University of Melbourne warns of growing risk to our society and democracy from an agenda to defund peaks and fund agencies only to deliver services – "no more no less".
Read MoreDespite some very strange advice from the Treasurer in recent weeks, it's clear to most that Australia is suffering from an acute housing affordability problem. It isn't an easy problem to solve and so the Transforming Housing Project @trnsfmnghousing, at the University of Melbourne is looking at it from all angles.
Read MoreAccording to Marc Jarh, of Community Development Futures LLC and former president of the New York City Housing Development Corporation "the math of affordable housing finance is cruel". So how, in the midst of a housing affordability crisis, can we make the numbers stack up? In this edited extract of Marc's presentation to the Transforming Housing Affordable Housing Summit he explores the institutions and policies that makes the US affordable housing finance system work.
Read MoreA coalition of 17 peak and non-government organisations from the health and community sectors is calling on the Australian Government to scrap plans to cut nearly $800 million in funding to key health initiatives over the next four financial years. The foreshadowed cuts would drastically reduce the capacity of non-government organisations and peak bodies to deliver services across the country and to provide advice and support for reform in health.
Read MoreThis blog post provides a teaser for an upcoming book, Creating and Implementing Cross-Sectoral public policy: Contemporary Debates. Whether working in the community sector, research, advocacy or perhaps even government, individuals want to know how to get heard and how to have an impact on policy. The construction of public policy and its effects differs according to one’s position in the process. In our edited collection, we explore policy design and implementation as an interplay between politics, values, ideas and evidence: presenting a ‘toolbox’ of ideas, perspectives and strategies related to policy approaches and their translation for action. The text is also designed to function as a conversation between those from ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ the policymaking tent. Below, the editors explore some of the key themes of the book from their different perspectives.
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Government policy ought to be designed to help its citizens flourish in a sustainable environment (in all its manifestations). When considering policy changes, it’s helpful to use evidence from a range of disciplines. Psychology tends to be an under-utilised area, yet it is rich with explorations into human motivation. Susan Maury, Policy Researcher with Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, has written previously about motivation research and changes in unemployment payments. Here she discusses why policy should be crafted to support creative thinking – particularly for those who struggle.
Read MoreChristina Boswell, Professor of Politics at the University of Edinburgh, explores the use of quantitative knowledge in policymaking and politics. In this article, previously published on her blog, she analyses the dangers of one such tool, the policy 'indicator' or 'target', which is increasingly used as shorthand for policy goals and outcomes. Further articles on Christina's blog can be found at https://christinaboswell.wordpress.com/about/ .
Read MoreIn today's post, Amanda Walsh, PhD candidate, University of Wollongong, explores the stark contrast between the public service's pronouncements of supporting family-friendly work environments and what happens whena prospective employee asks the one question that should never be spoken out loud: ‘Could I work for you part-time?’
Read MoreThe advocacy work undertaken by civil society bodies including environmental organisations to create benefit for the whole society has long been recognisedin the charitable status given for taxation purposes. However, this status is periodically contested and in the current era is potentially facing new threats from the Inquiry commissioned by the Minister for the Environment. St Vincent de Paul’s Research and Legal Officer Rik Sutherland outlines the debate, and argues for the continuation of charitable status for environmental advocacy organisations.
Read MoreToday's post is right in our sweet spot here at PTP - how to take practical steps towards better working relationships between sectors.
Donald P. Moynihan is Professor of Public Affairs at the La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a member of the National Academy of Administration, and the winner of theKershaw Award, provided every two years to one scholar under the age of 40 for outstanding contributions to public policy and management. He has presented his research to the OECD, the US Office of Management and Budget, and the World Bank. Follow him at @donmoyn. This post originally appeared on The Governance Blog.
Read MoreIn this article, Andrew Ryder outlines the thinking behind his new venture The Roma Research Exchange. This venture seeks to work with civil society and other community organisations to better identify priorities for research. Andrew outlines his thinking about emancipatory practice, knowledge construction, and the limitations of the traditional academic framework, all of which inform the development of this Exchange.
This article is a repost from the Policy and Politics Journal Blog.
Read MoreBy regular contributor Ben Spies-Butcher (@sensibleBSB).
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