Infrastructure project delivery: a life cycle evaluation model for public private partnerships. Governments continue to embrace public-private partnerships so as to obtain value for money and provide financial accountability to taxpayers. This project will determine the most appropriate way to engage the private sector in infrastructure delivery and develop a dynamic life cycle evaluation model to ensure projects are delivered effectively and efficiently.
Australian Centre For Research Excellence In Aboriginal Sexual Health And Blood Borne Viruses
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,496,848.00
Summary
Despite efforts to improve sexual health and blood borne virus outcomes for Aboriginal people over the last twenty years, this area lacks national coordination, has critical research gaps and requires a boost of research capacity to address the burden of diseases. This CRE will address research gaps, using novel, multidisciplinary methods and using unique research translation methods to ensure policy and practice benefits from the CRE outcomes.
A critical analysis of the increase in diagnosis of special educational needs in New South Wales government schools. Enhancing the ability of schools to respond to students with diverse needs has been shown to reduce student disengagement and early leaving. This research will identify ways to achieve this important goal, while reducing incentives for schools to label and segregate students who experience difficulty in schools and with learning. This will have long term benefits not only for indi ....A critical analysis of the increase in diagnosis of special educational needs in New South Wales government schools. Enhancing the ability of schools to respond to students with diverse needs has been shown to reduce student disengagement and early leaving. This research will identify ways to achieve this important goal, while reducing incentives for schools to label and segregate students who experience difficulty in schools and with learning. This will have long term benefits not only for individual students, but for communities and for the nation as a whole. The project will contribute to the Commonwealth government's national agenda linking positive educational outcomes to successful employment, broader economic participation, and enhanced social inclusion.Read moreRead less
Improving the International Response to Regime-Induced Displacement. This project examines why governments increasingly use force to deliberately displace their own populations on a massive scale, which is termed regime-induced displacement. Through a mix of quantitative and case study research, this project aims to explain why such actions have become rational strategies for regimes to respond to ethnic groups which may be a threat to them and how these regimes try to justify their behaviour in ....Improving the International Response to Regime-Induced Displacement. This project examines why governments increasingly use force to deliberately displace their own populations on a massive scale, which is termed regime-induced displacement. Through a mix of quantitative and case study research, this project aims to explain why such actions have become rational strategies for regimes to respond to ethnic groups which may be a threat to them and how these regimes try to justify their behaviour in order to thwart or delay international action. This is a critical issue as beyond its human cost, regime-induced displacement can lead to state fragility and regional instability as cases from Darfur to Syria demonstrate. Consequently, it directly affects Australia's security interests and international responsibilities.Read moreRead less
Creative Suburbia: A Critical Evaluation of the Scope for Creative Cultural Development in Australia's Suburban and Peri Urban Communities. Creative industries enterprises are increasingly important to Australia in a global knowledge-based economy. They account for 5.5% of national income, and recent work has shown they are 50% bigger than first estimated. But much research and policy assumes that these enterprises only take place in inner urban environments. This project will examine the work ....Creative Suburbia: A Critical Evaluation of the Scope for Creative Cultural Development in Australia's Suburban and Peri Urban Communities. Creative industries enterprises are increasingly important to Australia in a global knowledge-based economy. They account for 5.5% of national income, and recent work has shown they are 50% bigger than first estimated. But much research and policy assumes that these enterprises only take place in inner urban environments. This project will examine the work patterns of creative enterprise workers in the outer suburbs of Brisbane and Melbourne, investigating how these enterprises work outside of inner city zones. Such work will enable a more empirically grounded understanding of creative enterprise dynamics, so that the creative and economic potential of these activities are better realised.Read moreRead less
What Cost-effective Built Environment Interventions Would Create Healthy, Liveable And Equitable Communities In Australia, And What Would Facilitate These Being Translated Into Policy And Practice?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,658,832.00
Summary
This CRE involves collaboration between a multi-disciplinary research team across Australia working with policy-makers covering planning, urban design, transport planning and health. It will identify the most cost-effective built environment interventions required to create healthy, liveable, and equitable communities. Factors that influence research findings being translated into urban planning policy and practice will be examined and tools to assist changes to policy and practice developed.
Technologies of performance, technologies of governance: the bane, benefits, ethics and future of performance measurement in government. This study examines governments' increasing use of performance management and the complex ways this is transforming schools, universities, health and welfare services. It aims to improve service performance by identifying problems areas and engaging wider public perspectives.
Linking to learn and learning to link: building integrated school-based support systems for children and families in a disadvantaged community. The project will implement in a disadvantaged community changed institutional practices within primary schools and a partner welfare agency to increase family-school connectedness to improve children's behaviour and school performance. We build on the Pathways Project, which improved these outcomes for vulnerable preschool children, but highlighted the c ....Linking to learn and learning to link: building integrated school-based support systems for children and families in a disadvantaged community. The project will implement in a disadvantaged community changed institutional practices within primary schools and a partner welfare agency to increase family-school connectedness to improve children's behaviour and school performance. We build on the Pathways Project, which improved these outcomes for vulnerable preschool children, but highlighted the critical importance of family involvement with schools to effect enduring change and the difficulties of achieving this within current structures. We address this challenge by nurturing whole-school culture change, providing teacher professional development, and locating family support resources within schools to promote home-school partnerships, family functioning, and child well-being. Read moreRead less
Currencies of Care: Establishing the scope of performance indicators in child and family welfare services. This project aims to establish the scope of performance indicators for assessing outcomes in welfare services in urban, regional and rural contexts. Its significance lies in the analysis of outcomes, in addition to service outputs, and in advancing understanding of performance assessment beyond a narrow focus on urban service delivery environments. The project combines UnitingCare Burnside' ....Currencies of Care: Establishing the scope of performance indicators in child and family welfare services. This project aims to establish the scope of performance indicators for assessing outcomes in welfare services in urban, regional and rural contexts. Its significance lies in the analysis of outcomes, in addition to service outputs, and in advancing understanding of performance assessment beyond a narrow focus on urban service delivery environments. The project combines UnitingCare Burnside's experience in and commitment to delivery of high quality services with the CIs' interdisciplinary expertise in evaluation of caring work. Anticipated outcomes include development of a conceptual framework for performance assessment which will be used by the industry partner in managing and delivering services.Read moreRead less
Disciplinarity and classroom practice: Epistemological issues in the analysis and improvement of teaching and learning. Demands on levels of content and technical knowledge are accelerating from many employment sectors in Australia and elsewhere. In addition, there is an increasing need to apply knowledge to complex problems in innovative and flexible ways and in authentic settings not readily simulable in traditional schooling. The proposed project addresses fundamental questions about epistemo ....Disciplinarity and classroom practice: Epistemological issues in the analysis and improvement of teaching and learning. Demands on levels of content and technical knowledge are accelerating from many employment sectors in Australia and elsewhere. In addition, there is an increasing need to apply knowledge to complex problems in innovative and flexible ways and in authentic settings not readily simulable in traditional schooling. The proposed project addresses fundamental questions about epistemology, curriculum, and everyday classroom practice. It offers novel and evidence-based approaches to the building of discipline-based knowledge, and thus has powerful implications for the revitalising of Australian education to meet the urgent requirements of new economic, technological, and cultural times put pressures on education. Read moreRead less