The nature of the silent arrow

Let’s start at the end

Let’s tell the story of health. And let us start at the end, because that – for reasons that will become apparent in the remainder of my argument – is how we do things in academia. ‘How we do things in academia’ is unspoken and intrinsic to curriculum design and implementation (and the tools we maintain to keep things as they are – rather than shake them up) and funding our research.

This post by Professor Evelyne de Leeuw was originally posted at the Global Health Consultants blog.

Creating using evidence, IssuesPower to Persuade21 March 2016health, evidence-based policy

Book review: Grassroots to Government: creating joined-up working in Australia

To celebrate the launch of the new website, we have included today a review of the book written by Power to Persuade founder Gemma Carey: G rassroots to Government: creating joined-up working in Australia. This review was written by Power to Persuade moderator Luke Craven and is reposted from the Croakey site.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade16 March 2016cross-sector relationships

Social protection the first priority for economic policy

As speculation mounts about the possibility of an early budget announcement--and with it, a potential early Federal Election--debates about the Government's social and economic priorities have intensified. In this post by Dr Veronica Sheen, we take a look at the importance of social protection and the example of how the Greek economy responded to austerity measures.

Finance and economics, Policy and governancePower to Persuade15 March 2016

What is open data & what can it do for you: personally, professionally, politically

Rosie Williams (@Info_Aus), who runs the OpenAus project in financial and political transparency, has developed a short (free) introductory course for people who are unfamiliar with open data as a concept and with the open data eco-system. She explains below.

Creating using evidencePower to Persuade11 March 2016research

Words matter: deconstructing 'welfare dependency' in the UK

As we head towards the next Federal Budget and Federal Election, this post below from the London School of Economics and Political Science blog (@LSEpoliticsblog) provides a timely challenge to the term 'welfare dependency'. Paul Michael Garrett's post is focused on the United Kingdom but has much to offer the Australian context amid comments like 'the poor don't drive cars' from the former Treasurer Joe Hockey.

The price of medical miracles in hospitals: time for a culture change

Amid continuing talk of burgeoning health costs, particularly in the lead-up to the 2016 Federal Budget, Dr Lesley Russell says it is time to look at the impact of extended hospitalisation, on patients, carers and the health system. She warns we should not be so consumed with technological and surgical wonders that we miss their adverse impacts on the very patients whose lives they save.

Academia and motherhood: The impossible combination of parenthood and womanhood

On International Women's Day 2016, this post by UK academic Marie V. Gibert (@marievgibert) resonates across sectors and time as she prepares to leave formal academia. In the post, the first of two originally published on the PSA Women and Politics Group blog, she reflects on the combined challenges of parenthood and womanhood in academia, and how they strongly affect the career chances of academic mothers - and constrain the work they can do.

IssuesPower to Persuade8 March 2016gender

'How do I make people care?' Reframing that question in the media beyond

Power to Persuade aims to improve understanding and communication between the main groups involved in the policy process: government, academics and the community sector. Often that is done, or fails to happen, through the media.

AdvocacyPower to Persuade7 March 2016media, social justice

Lifting the quality of 'evidence' for the youth foyer model

Evidence-based policy only works if the evidence base itself is robust enough to inform decisions. Joseph Borlagdan (@borlagdanj), Iris Levin and Shelley Mallett of the Brotherhood of St Laurence started their review for ANZSOG's Evidence Base journal aiming to evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of the youth foyer model. But after their literature search revealed an overall lack of rigour in evaluation studies, they realised they needed to take a different tack.

The marketisation of social and community services: Finest hour or poisoned chalice for the Productivity Commission?

The marketisation of health, education and welfare is one inquiry the Productivity Commission may well wish it had never been given, reflects Policy Whisperer Paul Smyth of The University of Melbourne.

Will the NDIS and individualisation of disability services enhance human rights?

Helen Dickinson (@DrHDickinson) of the University of Melbourne argues that investments in disability services are long overdue. The creation of the $22 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is an important step, but on its own will not necessarily secure human rights for people with disabilities. If we are to secure human rights for people with disabilities, a broader set of reform processes will need to be considered that go beyond the funding of care services.

"Once you've looked at family violence you can't turn away" - meeting the 'adaptive challenge' of family violence

With a Royal Commission about to report in Victoria; a second Australian of the Year in a row listing family violence as a priority topic; a Family Violence Index on the cards; a new national evidence-based framework for prevention with bipartisan support; and significant commitment at the political level in both countries, family violence has never been more topical for Australian and New Zealand public servants. Sophie Yates (@MsSophieRae) reports here on insights from a family violence learning and leadership challenge conducted by the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG).

Social Policy Whisperer: Planned employment programs for remote Aboriginal Australia are bad policy design

The Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee chaired by Senator Cory Bernardi is holding an Inquiry into the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Community Development Program) Bill 2015. Our Social Policy Whisperer Jon Altman made a submission number 8 to the Inquiry in January and was invited to give further evidence in a public hearing on 19 February 2016 at the Monash Conference Centre, Melbourne. The opening comments to his evidence are reproduced in this blog.

When an informed public has had enough: Public protests and policy persuasion

The Power to Persuade blog tackles policy change from many angles. In today’s post, Ina Mullin, Communications Specialist with Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, tracks the change in public perception on the government’s asylum seeker policies which has culminated in the high-profile #LetThemStay campaign.

Issues, AdvocacyPower to Persuade24 February 2016social justice, media, refugees and asylum seekers

Coming to grips with the slippery Concept of Psychoemotional Abuse

As we continue to turn our attention to preventing and addressing family and domestic violence, we are identifying areas where our understanding is still limited. Robust policy and practice interventions require a solid foundation of definitions, concepts and frameworks based on evidence. Dr Peter Streker writes here of the need to understand psychological and emotional abuse better, a theme explored more fully in his book I Wish that He Hit Me: Working with psychological and emotional abuse.

IssuesDr. Kathy Landvogt22 February 2016violence against women

Banks should serve the real economy: how?

This guest blog is written by Tony Greenham, Director of Economy, Enterprise and Manufacturing at the RSA (The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) in London, and was originally posted on the RSA blog site on 2 February 2016.

Finance and economicsPower to Persuade22 February 2016economic policy

A first step on negative gearing, but not much more

Both major parties are examining changes to negative gearing. Ben Spies-Butcher argues the two proposals for reform point to just how deeply flawed negative gearing is, and why neither change goes far enough.

Changing home ownership and growing inequality

Australia has long been known as a nation of home owners. Ben Spies-Butcher explores the changes and implications that have been slowly taking place.

The media and public accountability: mirror or spark?

Australia is grappling with the real world consequences of successive governments' harsh asylum seeker policies. Some journalists and media organisations have been singled out for government criticism over their reporting of the plight of people caught in the system. In an environment of near total government secrecy, how can media fulfil the public interest responsibility of ensuring people are accurately informed? This piece, by Thomas Schillemans from Utrecht University and Sandra Jacobs from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands (originally published on the Policy and Politics blog) examines the public accountability role of media in reporting on asylum seekers in Europe.

Advocacy, IssuesPower to Persuade15 February 2016media, refugees and asylum seekers

Coming to grips with evidence- based policy making: what do we need to know?

In many ways, 'evidence-based policymaking' is the bureaucrat's new black. But what, really, does it mean? Where does it fit in the broader policymaking process? And how 'realistic' do we need to be to use it in practice? Below, Paul Cairney explores these issues in the UK context. This post originally appeared on his personal blog and is accompanied by a longer lecture on the subject (listen) Paul is a Professor of Politics and Public Policy at the University of Stirling, you can follow him on twitter at @Cairneypaul.

Creating using evidence, Policy and governanceLuke Craven12 February 2016policy research, politics and democracy

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Let’s start at the end