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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
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
Is Australian agricultural policy making still 'exceptional'? Investigating the population of issue niches in the Australian agricultural policy domain. Agriculture is an important part of Australian economic, social and cultural life. So too is the notion that public policy in all areas, agriculture included, should be formulated on the basis of consultation and input from the fullest possible range of interests and groups. This research will reveal the degree of competition and cooperation bet ....Is Australian agricultural policy making still 'exceptional'? Investigating the population of issue niches in the Australian agricultural policy domain. Agriculture is an important part of Australian economic, social and cultural life. So too is the notion that public policy in all areas, agriculture included, should be formulated on the basis of consultation and input from the fullest possible range of interests and groups. This research will reveal the degree of competition and cooperation between interests over agricultural policy issues in Australia. In so doing, it provides an important window on the public policy process which in turn should simulate public debate about agricultural policy making specifically and Australian political processes generally.Read moreRead less
Where commerce and culture connect? Corporate governance and social capital in the global era: the case of the AFL. This project investigates a central puzzle that confronts many community organisations in the global era: how does an organisation sustain its cultural core while negotiating the new challenges of commercial viability and strategic governance? Increasingly, community organisations are confronted with the logics of the market and corporate management. At stake is their cultural ....Where commerce and culture connect? Corporate governance and social capital in the global era: the case of the AFL. This project investigates a central puzzle that confronts many community organisations in the global era: how does an organisation sustain its cultural core while negotiating the new challenges of commercial viability and strategic governance? Increasingly, community organisations are confronted with the logics of the market and corporate management. At stake is their cultural identity, autonomy and their embeddedness in local communities. Through a study of the 16 clubs of the Australian Football League, this project aims to generate a new analytical framework to evaluate organisations that seek to blend corporate governance and community engagement in novel and innovative ways.Read moreRead less
Engaged Government: A study of government-community engagement for regional outcomes. The devolution of government business to regional government/community partnerships, coupled with the call for greater policy coherence, is challenging all levels of government and communities to collaborate in new ways to deliver regional outcomes. There is little empirical research to guide public managers in determining best value arrangements and strategic investments for building a region's 'collaborative ....Engaged Government: A study of government-community engagement for regional outcomes. The devolution of government business to regional government/community partnerships, coupled with the call for greater policy coherence, is challenging all levels of government and communities to collaborate in new ways to deliver regional outcomes. There is little empirical research to guide public managers in determining best value arrangements and strategic investments for building a region's 'collaborative advantage'. This project will examine the conditions (strategic, structural and procedural) under which multi-sectoral collaboration can deliver policy coherence and positive regional outcomes and identify the costs, benefits, trade-offs and capacities associated with effective multi-sectoral collaboration.
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The accountability priorities of federal parliamentarians and whether they are reflected in the Commonwealth budgetary and reporting framework. Senate committees provide the main forum in which elected representatives can directly scrutinise the actions of public officials. The project, by providing new detailed evidence about the accountability priorities of Senators, will contribute to ongoing debate about how to improve the quality of information provided by government agencies to Parliament ....The accountability priorities of federal parliamentarians and whether they are reflected in the Commonwealth budgetary and reporting framework. Senate committees provide the main forum in which elected representatives can directly scrutinise the actions of public officials. The project, by providing new detailed evidence about the accountability priorities of Senators, will contribute to ongoing debate about how to improve the quality of information provided by government agencies to Parliament. It will provide a valuable counterbalance to the dominant views of the Department of Finance and Administration which do not necessarily reflect the interests of the wider public. The quality of public information and of democratic governance will therefore be significantly enhanced.Read moreRead less
Political careers: a cohort analysis. The work of our MPs has influential effects on the lives of all of us. An informed citizenry deserves to have a close understanding of the nature of that work and of the people who undertake it. This research will provide that opportunity. Informed understanding could encourage greater esteem for politicians and more realistic expectations of what they can achieve in politics. For those aspiring to political careers, this comprehensive study will detail the ....Political careers: a cohort analysis. The work of our MPs has influential effects on the lives of all of us. An informed citizenry deserves to have a close understanding of the nature of that work and of the people who undertake it. This research will provide that opportunity. Informed understanding could encourage greater esteem for politicians and more realistic expectations of what they can achieve in politics. For those aspiring to political careers, this comprehensive study will detail the potentials and the limitations of their intended course. Analysts of parliament and of social change will benefit from this case study in social history.Read moreRead less
Westminster Transplanted and Westminster Implanted: Explanations for Political Change. Why have Westminster systems,adopted across the world, been so resilient in different environments? By exploring how different nations have adapted the core executive components of Westminster by combining local traditions with inherited practices, the project will identify what conditions provided the stability and security that often emerged. By comparing performance across nations it will explain why Westmi ....Westminster Transplanted and Westminster Implanted: Explanations for Political Change. Why have Westminster systems,adopted across the world, been so resilient in different environments? By exploring how different nations have adapted the core executive components of Westminster by combining local traditions with inherited practices, the project will identify what conditions provided the stability and security that often emerged. By comparing performance across nations it will explain why Westminster practices were so adaptable. This is the first longitudinal study seeking to explain political development in societies that inherited executive practices from the same source. It has the potential to identify how and why future constitutional transplants might succeed.Read moreRead less
Nation Building and Elite Formation in Singapore, 1966-85. * The project will study elite formation, the praxis of elite governance, and the development of the relationship between elitism and nation building in Singapore from independence in late 1965 to approximately 1985.
* This study is significant because it is arguably the pivotal axis on which the Singapore experience of governance rests, and yet it has not been the subject of a dedicated study.
* It is expected that the study will prod ....Nation Building and Elite Formation in Singapore, 1966-85. * The project will study elite formation, the praxis of elite governance, and the development of the relationship between elitism and nation building in Singapore from independence in late 1965 to approximately 1985.
* This study is significant because it is arguably the pivotal axis on which the Singapore experience of governance rests, and yet it has not been the subject of a dedicated study.
* It is expected that the study will produce a series of articles and a book that will contribute to our understanding of elite formation and nation building generally, as well as specifically in Singapore.
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The history of advocacy and guardianship for people with disabilities in Victoria, 1986 - 2006. The history and analysis of the Victorian Office of the Public Advocate will benefit the national community by providing a fuller understanding of guardianship and advocacy in daily action, and of the interaction between people with disabilities and the state. It will make an important contribution to understanding the changing ways that governments act and deliver services. The project will also deep ....The history of advocacy and guardianship for people with disabilities in Victoria, 1986 - 2006. The history and analysis of the Victorian Office of the Public Advocate will benefit the national community by providing a fuller understanding of guardianship and advocacy in daily action, and of the interaction between people with disabilities and the state. It will make an important contribution to understanding the changing ways that governments act and deliver services. The project will also deepen understanding of volunteering, in particular of the role ordinary citizens can play in guarding the rights of their fellow citizens. Read moreRead less