Counting the cost

A lack of economic analysis expertise in the Australian public sector is costing the country, writes economist Dr Leo Dobes in the wake of his recent cost-benefit analysis research. Government resources are finite, and decisions must constantly be made about where to direct resources so that they will most benefit the whole community. But these are complicated decisions to make - how can we genuinely move toward evidence-based public policy if we don't have the in-house capacity to rigorously analyse policy proposals? Relying on consultants has its risks.

Women’s Policy Action Tank: Promoting girls’ and women’s participation in STEM education and careers

Despite girls’ higher academic performance compared to boys – including science and math subjects – there is a “leaky pipeline” when it comes to keeping women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers. Today’s policy analysis provides a comprehensive break-down of the policy statements from the Coalition, Labor, and the Greens parties regarding keeping girls and women in STEM.

Major parties are behind the times – and strangely silent – on social policy

In this piece, originally published in The Conversation, Eva Cox (@evacox) of the University of Sydney argues that the major parties' commitment to fairness and trust doesn't extend to those who are not contributing paid work hours. As more than a third of registered voters are not in the paid workforce, this bipartisan silence on welfare policy and income support seems electorally short-sighted.

Finance and economics, IssuesPower to Persuade21 June 2016social welfare, social inequalities, employment

Contracting for outcomes: simple KPIs not enough for complex problems

David Donaldson (@davidadonaldson) writes about new research that casts doubt on whether outcomes-based contracting solves a fundamental problem: unintended consequences. Listening to stakeholders, although no breakthrough, remains key. The systematic review of evidence on outcome-based contracting was conducted by Emma Tomkinson and published in ANZSOG's Evidence Base journal.

Action and Inaction on Policy that Benefits Women

When a gender lens is applied to government policy, it becomes clear that women experience the consequences of policy differently to men. In this post, Policy Whisperer Susan Maury introduces the Women’s Policy Action Tank and why there is a need for highlighting women’s needs in the policy arena.

Stemming the revolving door phenomenon: the importance of strategic advocacy in the community legal sector

The community legal sector is well positioned to identify need for systemic change, to act upon that need and to generate policy improvements with significant public impact. Jacki Holland of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand discusses how, by engaging in strategic legal advocacy, community lawyers can venture beyond traditional case by case approaches to tackle systemic and common legal problems through novel means generating broad community benefit.

Power to Persuade14 June 2016

The NDIS, markets and self-regulation: If we build it will they come?

Dr. Helen Dickinson, Associate Professor Public Governance, Melbourne School of Government and School of Social and Political Sciences

Social Service FuturesPower to Persuade14 June 2016

Publish and Perish: Why academia needs to accept other ways of showing impact in industry-based research projects

Associate Professor Michael Charles & Professor Robyn Keast, School of Business and Tourism, Southern Cross University examine the long accepted the doctrine of ‘publish or perish’ and explore new ways of valuing academic outputs.

Women’s Policy Action Tank: Workplace policies must change to reflect 21st century realities

There are so many policies that intersect at the level of the family, which either enable or create barriers to active workforce participation while also ensuring family needs are met. Today’s Scorecard summarises what the major issues are for families, gender equity in the workforce, an ageing population, and carer duties. This synopsis is backed by a comprehensive document created by the Work + Family Policy Roundtable, comprised of over 30 academics from 16 research institutions. This analysis was first published in The Sydney Morning Herald on 30 May, 2016.

Women's Policy Action Tank: Women experiencing domestic violence need expert first contact

Both the acknowledgement that domestic violence occurs at high rates in Australia and the increased Federal funding for tackling this issue are to be lauded. In today’s post, a distinction is made between adequate funding and supporting best practice. For women experiencing violence, the choice of service model is critical. Funding must support best practice to ensure the safety of women and children.

The power of advocacy

In this piece, originally published in VCOSS’ Insight magazine, Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights CEO Joumanah El Matrah shared with Insight Editor Kellee Nolan her views on the power of advocacy, and describes some of the inner strengths and strategies that can help advocates persist in the pursuit of a fair and just society.

Power to Persuade7 June 2016

Raising people’s voices in Parliament

In this piece, originally published in VCOSS’s Insight magazine, Senator Ricky Muir says it is time people living in poverty were given a real voice in Parliament, raised above those of think tanks and party lines.

AdvocacyPower to Persuade7 June 2016politics and democracy

Fact-checking Attorney-General Brandis on community legal centre funding

A series of federal budget cuts to community legal centres has put the viability of many services at risk. Yet the government maintains it has increased funding to the sector. Darren Lewin-Hill, Communications Manager at the Federation of Community Legal Centres, runs the numbers on just how big a funding shortfall the sector faces.

Issues, AdvocacyPower to Persuade6 June 2016law

Should academics be expected to change policy? A response to James Lloyd

James Lloyd’s recent post on the LSE Impact Blog “Should academics be expected to change policy? Six reasons why it is unrealistic for research to drive policy change” has been raising eyebrows in research and policy circles. Lloyd’s basic claim is that it is neither realistic nor desirable to expect academics to achieve policy impact. Bold, but should we take his position as correct? Luke Craven, Chris Neff, and Paul Smyth investigate.

Women’s Policy Action Tank: Playing the woman’s card in the US presidential elections

Today’s post examines women in the policy process and how gender can influence their agency, by examining the case study of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. This article first appeared in the Canberra Times on 1 June 2016.

Did the govt really create 39,000 jobs for indigenous Australians?

At the National Press Club last Sunday, the Prime Minister congratulated his government for having produced 39,000 more jobs for indigenous Australians. But have they? The figures look a little rubbery, writes Jon Altman.

Women’s Policy Action Tank: The cost of gender inequality and family violence

It has been heartening to see the recent attention that family violence has been receiving at both a Federal and State levels in the past two years. In today’s policy analysis Supriya Singh argues that this attention is not being translated into meaningful policy responses, and has been sidelined in the current election debates. In order to effectively tackle family violence, gender inequalities must be addressed in a meaningful way.

Confused about the Medicare rebate freeze? Here’s what you need to know

Last week, the Australian Labor Party announced that it will lift the Medicare rebate freeze if elected to office in the July federal election. We know health issues feature strongly in election debates, but what does this proposal actually mean for most of us? In our latest post, Helen Dickinson explores these questions and more #healthelection.

Women’s Policy Action Tank: It’s a matter of trust. The policies we need to restore our faith in politics

In this policy analysis, originally published in The Conversation, Eva Cox provides an analysis of a range of current Federal policies that must be addressed to increase public trust. In her words, “the social must include feminist issues as most of the devaluing of this is in areas associated with women, and similarly many of the failures in the concerns of Indigenous people relate to social well-being and more collectivist cultures.”

Eva has initiated a policy network designed to fill some of the overlooked and under-resourced social policy gaps with positive alternatives: The Good Society Policy Network.

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