Socially Responsible Indicators for Policy, Practice and Benchmarking in Service Organisations. The Australian Government, while attempting to limit the spiralling costs of the welfare state, has encouraged market principles and practices in service organisations. This has raised value dilemmas and administrative tensions for education and welfare organisations who, while committed to social justice and social responsibility, have to operate efficiently and effectively. This research aims, thr ....Socially Responsible Indicators for Policy, Practice and Benchmarking in Service Organisations. The Australian Government, while attempting to limit the spiralling costs of the welfare state, has encouraged market principles and practices in service organisations. This has raised value dilemmas and administrative tensions for education and welfare organisations who, while committed to social justice and social responsibility, have to operate efficiently and effectively. This research aims, through the identification and analysis of tensions between social and economic value orientations in the workplace, to develop a values framework and key socially responsible indicators for the improvement of policy, decision making and practice within the Industry Partners and the wider service sectors.Read moreRead less
Mapping the policy advisory capacity of the Australian federal government: assessing transformations in the policy advising role of the Australian Public Service. Governmental effectiveness depends to a significant extent on the availability of high quality information, analysis and advice. This project therefore addresses a matter of crucial national importance, namely the ability of the Australian Public Service to support decision-making through its policy advising functions. The project is s ....Mapping the policy advisory capacity of the Australian federal government: assessing transformations in the policy advising role of the Australian Public Service. Governmental effectiveness depends to a significant extent on the availability of high quality information, analysis and advice. This project therefore addresses a matter of crucial national importance, namely the ability of the Australian Public Service to support decision-making through its policy advising functions. The project is significant for both its theoretical and practical contributions. Its findings will inform better understandings of the policy advising role of the public service and its relationship to decision-makers in an increasingly pluralised governance context. The project will be the Australian contribution to a larger comparative project examining policy advisory capacities in four Westminster-style governments.Read moreRead less
Collaboration as a solution to wicked public policy problems: the example of regional environmental and natural resources policy in Australia. This project contributes to the water national priority by assessing two major national programs to improve Australia's land and water management through innovative collaboration models. It examines whether new collaborations between governments and NGO stakeholders, together with the creation of numerous regional bodies, are likely to achieve better outc ....Collaboration as a solution to wicked public policy problems: the example of regional environmental and natural resources policy in Australia. This project contributes to the water national priority by assessing two major national programs to improve Australia's land and water management through innovative collaboration models. It examines whether new collaborations between governments and NGO stakeholders, together with the creation of numerous regional bodies, are likely to achieve better outcomes than the previous regulatory models. The project will enhance public policy models through analysis of the strengths and limitations of the new program approach. Problems and prospects at the national, state and regional levels will be assessed including how different forms of collaboration are linked to effective and accountable institutional arrangements. Read moreRead less
Decision making in international organisations: who and what shapes decisions? This project explores the working of seven international organisations (IOs) to ask who or what shapes what IOs do. Using public policy concepts to analyse the contributions of state representatives, chief executives and staff within IOs, this project seeks to provide more realistic appreciation of what IOs can achieve.
International Civil Servants and the World Bank: their Role and Impact. The World Bank is the principal international organisation responsible for alleviating poverty and advocating good governance.Understanding the World Bank and its impact in the South Asian and East Asia regions should enable an improved capability for Australia to appreciate the attempts to alleviate the poverty in the region that is so much a source of instability there. We further need to understand the potential of int ....International Civil Servants and the World Bank: their Role and Impact. The World Bank is the principal international organisation responsible for alleviating poverty and advocating good governance.Understanding the World Bank and its impact in the South Asian and East Asia regions should enable an improved capability for Australia to appreciate the attempts to alleviate the poverty in the region that is so much a source of instability there. We further need to understand the potential of internatonal civil servants to contribute to international cooperation and the process of globalization. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989083
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$550,000.00
Summary
Australian Social Science Data Archive: Provision of Advanced Research Infrastructure and Collaborative Environment. The Australian Social Science Data Archive (ASSDA) supports researchers in a wide range of social science and humanities disciplines. These researchers are both primary and secondary users of data collected across a range of economic, social, political and cultural areas. Increasingly, complex public policy problems require multi-disciplinary solutions based on a range of data sou ....Australian Social Science Data Archive: Provision of Advanced Research Infrastructure and Collaborative Environment. The Australian Social Science Data Archive (ASSDA) supports researchers in a wide range of social science and humanities disciplines. These researchers are both primary and secondary users of data collected across a range of economic, social, political and cultural areas. Increasingly, complex public policy problems require multi-disciplinary solutions based on a range of data sources to address these problems. This proposal provides a means for Australia's leading edge researchers to advance the knowledge base that can lead to the development of strong evidence based policy. The open access policies of ASSDA ensures that the general public, media, non-government organisation (NGOs) and government agencies are able to examine the public use data sets that are used by researchers to arrive at their conclusions.Read moreRead less
Categories of employment and unemployment patterns in the Sunshine Coast Labour Market: a regional study. The aim of this project is to provide information on how a local labour market (LLM) works. It will be the first such Australian study to look at marginally attached workers and atypical employment, both of which are increasing segments in the Australian labour market. The outcomes will provide strategic input for the industry partners in policy reviews of education and training programs, ....Categories of employment and unemployment patterns in the Sunshine Coast Labour Market: a regional study. The aim of this project is to provide information on how a local labour market (LLM) works. It will be the first such Australian study to look at marginally attached workers and atypical employment, both of which are increasing segments in the Australian labour market. The outcomes will provide strategic input for the industry partners in policy reviews of education and training programs, adjustments to changing employment circumstances, and regulation of employment. The study is innovative in design as it explores a social capital dimension of labour market behaviour.Read moreRead less
Resolving Complex Policy Problems - the role of social science. This project will show how social science research can enhance policy decision-making on complex social issues. Factors which help or hinder productive use of social research will be identified, and models for improving these relationships will be examined. The project investigates complex case-studies to develop richer explanations of how social research findings could be more fully utilised in resolving complex policy problems. Th ....Resolving Complex Policy Problems - the role of social science. This project will show how social science research can enhance policy decision-making on complex social issues. Factors which help or hinder productive use of social research will be identified, and models for improving these relationships will be examined. The project investigates complex case-studies to develop richer explanations of how social research findings could be more fully utilised in resolving complex policy problems. The project builds on international research to provide a deeper understanding of the direct and indirect impacts of social research in policymaking. It will develop new approaches to how social science researchers demonstrate ‘value’ and benefits to government and other partners. Read moreRead less
The impact of small business policy systems on small firm innovation and competitiveness in critical industry sectors. This research will examine the proposition that small business policy systems affect the structure and strategy of SMEs and in turn the sectors within which SMEs innovate and specialise. It will involve an analysis of SME policy systems; sectors of SME specialisation based on patent data, annual reports and firm web sites; and a longitudinal study of the strategy and structure o ....The impact of small business policy systems on small firm innovation and competitiveness in critical industry sectors. This research will examine the proposition that small business policy systems affect the structure and strategy of SMEs and in turn the sectors within which SMEs innovate and specialise. It will involve an analysis of SME policy systems; sectors of SME specialisation based on patent data, annual reports and firm web sites; and a longitudinal study of the strategy and structure of 29 case study firms in 3 sectors in 3 countries based on in-depth interviews and focus groups. Findings will provide a basis for improved policy advice concerning the mechanisms for encouraging small firm innovation and competitiveness in critical sectors.Read moreRead less
The Kids in Communities Study: national investigation of community level effects on children's developmental outcomes. This project (a cross-disciplinary collaboration) will investigate community level factors influencing early childhood developmental outcomes using a mixed methods approach in up to 10 communities across Australia. This will result in a potential set of measures or indicators that reflect communities that are good for children.