The effectiveness of health impact assessments conducted in Australia and New Zealand. Health impact assessment (HIA) has been internationally recognised as one of a limited number of preventive interventions that can be used to enhance the health benefits of health and other sector activities - policies, programs and projects - before they are implemented. The issue of how effective HIA is in changing decision-making and implementation remains largely unresolved however. This study will exami ....The effectiveness of health impact assessments conducted in Australia and New Zealand. Health impact assessment (HIA) has been internationally recognised as one of a limited number of preventive interventions that can be used to enhance the health benefits of health and other sector activities - policies, programs and projects - before they are implemented. The issue of how effective HIA is in changing decision-making and implementation remains largely unresolved however. This study will examine the effectiveness HIAs that have been completed in Australia and New Zealand between 2005 and 2009. The findings will guide the use of HIA by the public and private sectors in Australia and internationally, and improve HIA's ability to strengthen Australia's social and economic fabric.Read moreRead less
Assessing the Nation's Infrastructure: The Role of Financial and Non-Financial Information. Presently governments do not disclose information about the condition of legacy infrastructure, and the extent of projected (often, non-discretionary) expenditure to repair or upgrade the functionality of those assets. This project builds on an analytical framework developed by Walker Clark & Dean (2000). It examines the viability of alternative proposals for providing information to external stakeholders ....Assessing the Nation's Infrastructure: The Role of Financial and Non-Financial Information. Presently governments do not disclose information about the condition of legacy infrastructure, and the extent of projected (often, non-discretionary) expenditure to repair or upgrade the functionality of those assets. This project builds on an analytical framework developed by Walker Clark & Dean (2000). It examines the viability of alternative proposals for providing information to external stakeholders, on either an agency or ?whole of government? basis. Using a combination of case studies and stated preference data, the study seeks to derive an optimal reporting framework which can assist governments better measure and more effectively manage the nation's infrastructure.Read moreRead less
Making policy reform work: a comparative analysis of social procurement . This project aims to clarify the institutional and cross-sectoral conditions needed for successful implementation of emerging social procurement policy reforms; these seek through public spending to increase employment and business opportunities for people experiencing social exclusion. Via a mixed-methods comparative study in the leading jurisdictions of Victoria and Scotland, the project will extend scholarly knowledge o ....Making policy reform work: a comparative analysis of social procurement . This project aims to clarify the institutional and cross-sectoral conditions needed for successful implementation of emerging social procurement policy reforms; these seek through public spending to increase employment and business opportunities for people experiencing social exclusion. Via a mixed-methods comparative study in the leading jurisdictions of Victoria and Scotland, the project will extend scholarly knowledge of implementing policy reforms that rely on government and non-government actors working together in new ways, and practical understanding of what is needed to realise social procurement policy goals. This will contribute to effective public expenditure and ultimately help redress the societal consequences of exclusion.Read moreRead less
What does 'New Public Management' look like in the public sector workplace: a comparative study of Australia and the United Kingdom. Moving beyond the macro-level focus of most previous studies of the impact of ?New Public Management? (NPM), this project will examine its effect on civil and public services at the micro-level of the workplace. It will trace, analyse and compare the impacts of the managerial/contract state on particular public sector workplaces in Australia and the United Kingdom ....What does 'New Public Management' look like in the public sector workplace: a comparative study of Australia and the United Kingdom. Moving beyond the macro-level focus of most previous studies of the impact of ?New Public Management? (NPM), this project will examine its effect on civil and public services at the micro-level of the workplace. It will trace, analyse and compare the impacts of the managerial/contract state on particular public sector workplaces in Australia and the United Kingdom. It will classify and evaluate a range of impacts of NPM on public sector workplace organisation, labour processes and employment/industrial relations. It will explain significant differences in the form taken by NPM in various workplaces and explore their implications for workplace practice.Read moreRead less
Regional Governance in Rural NSW: Emerging Issues and Future Options. Effective service delivery,community development and environmental management are crucial issues for Australian rural communities,albeit varying regionally in type and importance.This project will demonstrate how their quality of provision depends on the structure and capacity of regional governance-including the roles of local and other tiers of government,other institutions,and private actors. It considers the need for flexi ....Regional Governance in Rural NSW: Emerging Issues and Future Options. Effective service delivery,community development and environmental management are crucial issues for Australian rural communities,albeit varying regionally in type and importance.This project will demonstrate how their quality of provision depends on the structure and capacity of regional governance-including the roles of local and other tiers of government,other institutions,and private actors. It considers the need for flexible governance, and for systems of service delivery and management tailored to regional problems and capacities.Although these themes will be developed in a representative sample of three NSW rural regions,the findings will have wider national implications.Read moreRead less
Political Risk, Institutions and Regulatory Regimes: Business, Foreign Investment and Public Administration in Asia. Rating accurately the risk environment of emerging economies has always been problematic. Insufficiently developed methodological tools and the lack of institutional and regulatory data make the process imprecise. This project overcomes this problem, developing a new industry based risk assessment system for understanding political risk to commercial activities and foreign investo ....Political Risk, Institutions and Regulatory Regimes: Business, Foreign Investment and Public Administration in Asia. Rating accurately the risk environment of emerging economies has always been problematic. Insufficiently developed methodological tools and the lack of institutional and regulatory data make the process imprecise. This project overcomes this problem, developing a new industry based risk assessment system for understanding political risk to commercial activities and foreign investors in nine of Asia's most rapidly developing economies. The study, one of the first to correlate institutional and regulatory forms to the incidence, severity and recurrence of risk, will deepen our knowledge of political and regulatory institutions in Asia and provide investors with the ability to navigate those environments successfully. Read moreRead less
Public-Private-Partnership Governance and Performance: An Empirical Assessment. While Australia's rural and regional communities require improved infrastructure services at reduced costs and higher quality; infrastructure costs are significant and governments' funds are insufficient to meet demand. Public-private-partnerships (PPPs), if they work successfully, can be the key to meet this demand. As PPPs reduce the financial investment that governments need to make, the greater the opportunity fo ....Public-Private-Partnership Governance and Performance: An Empirical Assessment. While Australia's rural and regional communities require improved infrastructure services at reduced costs and higher quality; infrastructure costs are significant and governments' funds are insufficient to meet demand. Public-private-partnerships (PPPs), if they work successfully, can be the key to meet this demand. As PPPs reduce the financial investment that governments need to make, the greater the opportunity for considered infrastructure development, if the PPPs are successful and meet their intended financial and social objectives. Thus, a better understanding of the performance outcomes of different governance mechanisms in PPPs can result in less expensive and better infrastructure services for Australia's communities.Read moreRead less
Government Finance Statistics versus Accrual Accounting Standards as the Basis for Financial Reporting and Budgeting on the Operating, Financing and Investing Performance of Governments. More than one third of our economic activity is subject to public expenditure management processes. However, recent decisions of the FRC to harmonize GFS and AASs will fundamentally reshape public sector financial reporting. Harmonization has certain benefits, but the proposal warrants careful consideration as ....Government Finance Statistics versus Accrual Accounting Standards as the Basis for Financial Reporting and Budgeting on the Operating, Financing and Investing Performance of Governments. More than one third of our economic activity is subject to public expenditure management processes. However, recent decisions of the FRC to harmonize GFS and AASs will fundamentally reshape public sector financial reporting. Harmonization has certain benefits, but the proposal warrants careful consideration as it is unclear whether a converged GFS system will better service the needs of the community and enhance public sector accountability more generally. Focusing on the heterogeneous information needs of key stakeholder groups, this study will provide one of the first pioneering empirical investigations of alternative GFS methods and practices in Australia.Read moreRead less