Blog

THIS WEEK’S MODERATOR

Dr. Cadhla O’Sulllivan

A tournament of endurance: Does equal pay mean equal time?

A tournament of endurance: Does equal pay mean equal time?

Are higher-status positions and good pay rewarded to those most qualified or those who win an endurance test of hours spent at the office? Today’s contributor, Lyndall Strazdins of Australia National University, presents the evidence that gender divides in the workplace are heavily influenced by the number of hours available for working. This not only limits women’s participation in the workplace with negative consequences on their financial security and influence, it is also negatively impacting on men’s work-life balance and health. She argues for an overhaul of working-time related policies to create a more beneficial working life for everyone.

Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action Tank21 November 2016employment, gender pay gap, gender

Women's Policy Action Tank: Women and prison

Women's Policy Action Tank: Women and prison

The number of women incarcerated in Australia is on the rise, yet there are stark differences in the nature of women’s offending which raise the question: is the criminal justice system poised to respond to gendered differences in the prison population? The Women’s Policy Action Tank has previously examined whether the prison system is an appropriate response to women’s offending. Today’s policy analysis provides the data to understand these gendered differences and proposes changes that will better respond to women in the criminal justice system.

Womens Policy Action Tank, Women's ScorecardPower to Persuade15 November 2016prisons, Aboriginal issues, violence against women, evidence-based policy

Complexity and public policy: new approaches and old concerns

Complexity theorists often make bold claims about its potential to represent a scientific revolution that it will change the way we think about, and study, the natural and social world. In public policy. In this post, Paul Cairney and Robert Geyer talk about their new Handbook of Complexity and Public Policy, and how it suggests complexity can offer us new insights and normative tools to respond to a wicked world in novel and pragmatic ways.

Policy and governance, Creating using evidencePower to Persuade15 November 2016networked governance

Co-production for better public policy: uncovering the smoking gun research

It’s no longer enough for researchers to simply publish their findings. To have a real world impact on an issue like tobacco control, researchers need to work in partnership with policy makers, experts and the community, says Emily Banks from @SaxInstitute.

Creating using evidence, Policy and governancePower to Persuade14 November 2016outcome and impacts, policy research, evidence-based policy

The deadly consequences of a gender-blind approach to heart disease

The deadly consequences of a gender-blind approach to heart disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of premature death for Australian women, largely due to a lack of a gender lens in both education and medical response. Today’s policy analysis provides the evidence for a gendered approach to CVD.

Womens Policy Action Tank, Women's ScorecardPower to Persuade14 November 2016health, evidence-based policy

A moment of silence ... then get in formation

A moment of silence ... then get in formation

It seems appropriate to interrupt our normal programming in light of todays events. I, like most people I know, am shocked beyond words. But a few have begun to find words. A friend posted this powerful message on Facebook:

This is a time for anger, not despair. Such abject self destruction can only be countered with committed creation. I don't know where America goes from here - a fetid bandage has been ripped off to reveal huge gaping wounds and about the best I can say is, well, at least now we can see them. But in this country or my own, tomorrow is when my activism starts, not ends.

AdvocacyPower to Persuade9 November 2016

Women, Ageism and Elder Abuse

Women, Ageism and Elder Abuse

Ageism, or the devaluing of older people, differently impacts on women due to the overlay of sexist attitudes on women’s worth. Additionally, lower-status employment and financial insecurity can create an environment whereby older women are particularly vulnerable to instances of elder abuse. Today’s Scorecard identifies key areas for an improved policy response.

Womens Policy Action Tank, Women's Scorecard, Policy and governanceWomen's Policy Action Tank8 November 2016violence against women, ageing

Targets and Political Trust

This post originally appeared on Professor Christina Boswell personal website, where she reports on her ESRC Project.

Targets and performance indicators have become ubiquitous as techniques of governance. Governments and public service agencies have employed an array of such tools to steer, monitor and evaluate performance. Political leaders have also developed targets to signal their commitment to policy goals. Yet after more than three decades of performance measurement in public policy, mostcommentators agree that such tools have produced numerous adverse effects. Performance measurement techniques imply focusing on a limited range of quantitative features or goals, thereby narrowing down the focus of policy-making and political debate. They can create perverse incentives and encourage gaming. Not least, the use of such tools can erode trust within organizations, and even undermine confidence in political leaders and politics.

Power to Persuade8 November 2016

Checking in on the NDIS

Checking in on the NDIS

The NDIS was initially framed around the rights of people with disability – the right to be part of the community and to have the supports necessary to do that.

It also envisioned a new system that would mean people with disability would have ‘choice and control‘ (as the rhetoric went) over what kinds of supports they wanted and used.

Power to Persuade7 November 2016

Why Blue Box Thinking is Not Good for Collaboration

In today's video post, Professor Robyn Keast discusses what sets collaboration apart in the '5 Cs' of inter-organisational relationships - competition, cooperation, coordination, collaboration and consolidation. Her presentation builds on her post published on this blog in September: Think outside the 'Blue Box': Three reasons it matters for authentic collaboration.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade1 November 2016networked governance

Wisdom in Public Administration – The elephant in the room

In an environment of "post-truth politics" and hybrid governance, how can we ensure that those working in the public sector are trusted, equipped and encouraged to weigh up evidence, to negotiate consensus among different stakeholders and to design public policy and public services that promote the public good? Thu-Trang Tran, a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne, explains why we should be looking for - and cultivating - wisdom in public administration.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade31 October 2016government

Has the NDIS changed how you collaborate?

Has the NDIS changed how you collaborate?

As well as changing the way we deliver services to our clients, the NDIS is affecting how disability organisations work with each other.

That’s why UNSW, National Disability Services and the Brotherhood of St Laurence are calling on CEOs, senior managers and sole providers to help us paint a complete picture of the ways organisations collaborate under the NDIS.

Power to Persuade31 October 2016

Migrant voices must be heard: Ending the exploitation of newly arrived and refugee workers

Migrant voices must be heard: Ending the exploitation of newly arrived and refugee workers

The exploitation of migrant workers in Australia is widespread, with current systems failing to stop the abuse. The WEstjustice Community Legal Centre Employment Law Project seeks to address this by consulting with newly arrived and refugee community members, leaders and organisations, and collaborating with community partners to improve employment outcomes. Project Lead Catherine Hemingway (@cathemingway) shares this summary of the Project's key findings and recommendations, to be released in an upcoming report: Not just work: ending the exploitation of refugee and migrant workers.

Issues, AdvocacyPower to Persuade27 October 2016employment, refugees and asylum seekers

Law Officers, Lies and Video Tape

The Attorney-General and Solicitor-General's office have been locked in a high stakes political battle over the provision of advice to the Federal Government. In this post, Jennifer Duxbury (@duxburyjen) at the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis at the University of Canberra, asks, what is the relationship between law and politics in our democracy? This post originally appeared on The Policy Space.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade26 October 2016accountability

Evidence-based policymaking in health systems is a myth

Evidence-based policymaking in health systems is a myth

Is evidence-based policymaking "naïve and dystopian"? In this post, Devaki Nambiar (Research Scientist at the Public Health Foundation of India and a Member of the Social Science Approaches for Research and Engagement in Health Policy & Systems (SHAPES) and Translating Evidence into Action Thematic Working Groups of Health Systems Global) argues that for research knowledge to inform policy, it must be 'translated' by a range of other players who can make it 'culturally salient and institutionally viable'. This post originally appeared on the Health Systems Global website.

Creating using evidencePower to Persuade24 October 2016evidence-based policy

Learning to love complaints: the Victorian Ombudsman and good complaints practice

'Learn to love complaints' is the message from Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass to the public sector bodies she investigates. Her office has produced a good practice guide as part of its work to drive improvements in public administration.

It's a useful guide also for other sectors, not least its case studies which also point to the Ombudsman's role in handling complaints from vulnerable and disadvantaged people

Power to Persuade21 October 2016