Women in Local Government: Understanding their Political Trajectories. This project aims to investigate the chronic under representation of women in Australian politics through a local government lens. It expects to generate new knowledge about barriers to female political representation, their political performance and pathways to higher tiers of elected office. By following men and women councillors across an election cycle, this research seeks to robustly compare and measure women's experienc ....Women in Local Government: Understanding their Political Trajectories. This project aims to investigate the chronic under representation of women in Australian politics through a local government lens. It expects to generate new knowledge about barriers to female political representation, their political performance and pathways to higher tiers of elected office. By following men and women councillors across an election cycle, this research seeks to robustly compare and measure women's experiences of local politics to develop a new framework to map and address obstacles preventing political equity. Expected outcomes include theoretical advances and a 'best practice' guide for achieving parity.This should provide significant public benefits by advancing female participation across all levels of governments.
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Understanding and Addressing Informal Voting in Victoria. Victoria's informal vote rate is high and rising. In order to combat the problem of hundreds of thousands of 'lost votes' at Victorian state and local government elections we must first understand it. This collaboration with the Victorian Electoral Commission addresses the problem at both state and local levels over 3 election periods using 4 distinct studies. We combine experimental data, aggregate-level data and individual-level data to ....Understanding and Addressing Informal Voting in Victoria. Victoria's informal vote rate is high and rising. In order to combat the problem of hundreds of thousands of 'lost votes' at Victorian state and local government elections we must first understand it. This collaboration with the Victorian Electoral Commission addresses the problem at both state and local levels over 3 election periods using 4 distinct studies. We combine experimental data, aggregate-level data and individual-level data to provide a thorough and multi-dimensional picture of informal voting. We will then propose remedies to be trialled and assessed. Taken together, our studies will represent the first multi-dimensional analysis of informality to be conducted in any Western democracy.
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Cooperation, competition or control? Public policy and the use of tied grants in Australian federalism. Tied grants account for $26 billion worth of Commonwealth expenditure and cover everything from child care to aged care, environmental programs to road building. They crucially affect the capacity of Australian governments to make policy and deliver services. A better understanding of how they work in practice will be a great benefit in improving our capability to meet pressing social, econo ....Cooperation, competition or control? Public policy and the use of tied grants in Australian federalism. Tied grants account for $26 billion worth of Commonwealth expenditure and cover everything from child care to aged care, environmental programs to road building. They crucially affect the capacity of Australian governments to make policy and deliver services. A better understanding of how they work in practice will be a great benefit in improving our capability to meet pressing social, economic, environmental and regional development challenges.Read moreRead less
Toward inclusive peace. Toward inclusive peace. This project will investigate how peace agreements can advance women’s rights and participation after post-conflict and political transitions. It will examine the relationship between women’s presence in peacemaking processes, women’s rights and gender provisions in peace agreements, and women’s participation in post-conflict governance of countries with successful peace agreements. Women’s participation in peace processes makes a successful peace ....Toward inclusive peace. Toward inclusive peace. This project will investigate how peace agreements can advance women’s rights and participation after post-conflict and political transitions. It will examine the relationship between women’s presence in peacemaking processes, women’s rights and gender provisions in peace agreements, and women’s participation in post-conflict governance of countries with successful peace agreements. Women’s participation in peace processes makes a successful peace agreement likelier, but may not consolidate peace or lead to greater participation by women in the governance of the country. Anticipated outcomes are analysis of the relationship between peace processes and gender equality in conflict-affected societies; improved consular delivery of aid programmes in fragile states; and targeted air delivery that empowers women.Read moreRead less
Retrieving the Record: the White Australia policy, citizenship education and new applications for archival research. This project will develop models for making more effective use of the resources of the National Archives of Australia within civics and citizenship education. Using the resources of the Archives, the team will produce a new history of the White Australia policy, which will be developed into a public display and forum, showing how archival materials can illuminate the complexities ....Retrieving the Record: the White Australia policy, citizenship education and new applications for archival research. This project will develop models for making more effective use of the resources of the National Archives of Australia within civics and citizenship education. Using the resources of the Archives, the team will produce a new history of the White Australia policy, which will be developed into a public display and forum, showing how archival materials can illuminate the complexities of the democratic process. Supplementary research will investigate prospects for making stronger institutional connections between the Archives, citizenship education and teachers' professional formation. Benefits include increased understanding of immigration, Australian political history, educational strategies and the Archives' role and resources. Read moreRead less
Parliamentary Careers: Design, Delivery and Evaluation of Improved Professional Development. National/community benefits arise from improved design, delivery and evaluation of professional development programs for parliamentarians, thereby enhancing their central constitutional roles in making laws, approving budgets and holding government policy and administration to account. This innovative cross-disciplinary project generates theoretical and practical understanding concerning the duration, co ....Parliamentary Careers: Design, Delivery and Evaluation of Improved Professional Development. National/community benefits arise from improved design, delivery and evaluation of professional development programs for parliamentarians, thereby enhancing their central constitutional roles in making laws, approving budgets and holding government policy and administration to account. This innovative cross-disciplinary project generates theoretical and practical understanding concerning the duration, content and learning modes of parliamentarians' professional development programs. Australian assistance programs to parliaments in the Pacific will have improved design, delivery and evaluation and be more effective in improving parliamentary performance, national governance and enhanced political stability in Australia's region.Read moreRead less
Strengthening Australia's national integrity system. Strengthening Australia's national integrity system. This project aims to equip governments and civil society stakeholders with evidence-based options to improve the structure and operations of integrity institutions, by undertaking a second National Integrity System Assessment. Public integrity is vital to social and economic prosperity and the quality of democracy. This project intends to identify new, more effective strategies to prevent co ....Strengthening Australia's national integrity system. Strengthening Australia's national integrity system. This project aims to equip governments and civil society stakeholders with evidence-based options to improve the structure and operations of integrity institutions, by undertaking a second National Integrity System Assessment. Public integrity is vital to social and economic prosperity and the quality of democracy. This project intends to identify new, more effective strategies to prevent corruption and other integrity violations; coordinate the work of integrity institutions; ensure their accountability; and measure the effectiveness of integrity and anti-corruption policy settings. This research is expected to contribute to better evaluation of integrity policies worldwide.Read moreRead less
Visualising Humanitarian Crises: Transforming Images and Aid Policy. This project aims to draw on the power of images to transform practices of aid. Prevailing visualisations of humanitarian crises are powerful but problematic. They often focus on violence and depict victims in stereotypical and dehumanising ways. The project develops new evidence-based visual strategies through interdisciplinary collaborations with leading industry partners in Australia and internationally. Expected outcomes in ....Visualising Humanitarian Crises: Transforming Images and Aid Policy. This project aims to draw on the power of images to transform practices of aid. Prevailing visualisations of humanitarian crises are powerful but problematic. They often focus on violence and depict victims in stereotypical and dehumanising ways. The project develops new evidence-based visual strategies through interdisciplinary collaborations with leading industry partners in Australia and internationally. Expected outcomes include best practice guidelines that better equip humanitarian organisations to help people in need and contribute to enduring political solutions. Resulting benefits are more effective aid policies at a time when humanitarian concerns are increasingly central to global stability and Australia’s national interest.Read moreRead less
Trade Unions, Globalisation, and Networked Computers. This project undertakes a qualitative study of Australian unionists' usage of networked computers and their potential for increasing trade union membership and participation, and promoting productive diversity in workplaces. At a time of declining unionisation, these issues have become urgent and give rise to key research questions about email and the Internet in trade union organisation and communication with members. The project promises to ....Trade Unions, Globalisation, and Networked Computers. This project undertakes a qualitative study of Australian unionists' usage of networked computers and their potential for increasing trade union membership and participation, and promoting productive diversity in workplaces. At a time of declining unionisation, these issues have become urgent and give rise to key research questions about email and the Internet in trade union organisation and communication with members. The project promises to provide broader theoretical insights into union responses to deregulated labour markets and the globalisation of the economy. The results will be useful to other political and social organisations, as well as government policy makers.
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Global Citizen Deliberation: Analysing a Deliberative Documentary. The project will enact and film the world’s first truly global citizens’ deliberation, a global citizens’ assembly (GCA) on genome editing, and proceed to analyse the impact of the ‘deliberative documentary’ film on public understanding of complex, fast-evolving science and technology. It will investigate the cross-cultural capacity of citizens to deliberate complex value-laden issues, and so ascertain prospects for an informed g ....Global Citizen Deliberation: Analysing a Deliberative Documentary. The project will enact and film the world’s first truly global citizens’ deliberation, a global citizens’ assembly (GCA) on genome editing, and proceed to analyse the impact of the ‘deliberative documentary’ film on public understanding of complex, fast-evolving science and technology. It will investigate the cross-cultural capacity of citizens to deliberate complex value-laden issues, and so ascertain prospects for an informed global public response to challenges posed by genome editing. Research will test the effects of the deliberative documentary on viewers, examining benefits of communicating complex issues via the work of the GCA. Other benefits include improving public trust in governance and advancing the Australian film industry.
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