Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354573
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
To develop an Indigenous Governance Research Network. This initiative is the first national attempt at networking research in the emerging field of Indigenous Governance. The aim is to develop a collaborative and productive research network on Indigenous Governance, well informed by expertise from Australia and internationally.
The Network aims, using best technology, to enable researchers and practitioners to share expertise; facilitate inter-disciplinary collaboration; develop research too ....To develop an Indigenous Governance Research Network. This initiative is the first national attempt at networking research in the emerging field of Indigenous Governance. The aim is to develop a collaborative and productive research network on Indigenous Governance, well informed by expertise from Australia and internationally.
The Network aims, using best technology, to enable researchers and practitioners to share expertise; facilitate inter-disciplinary collaboration; develop research tools; disseminate best practice; and mentor the development of young researchers.
The Network will be unique - nationally and internationally. Expected outcomes include, improved research practice; enhanced understanding of the components of Indigenous governance; practical application of research findings; and enhanced governance capacity.
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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
Prime ministers: explaining why some succeed and others fail. Some prime ministers succeed but others fail, even though both nominally have the same powers. Why is there a difference? This project will examine their statecraft to explain how they use those powers in Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada and with what effect.
Hierarchy to high-performance? Evaluating 30yrs of Senior Executive Service. This project aims to evaluate whether Senior Executive Service (SES) schemes, introduced in the public sector the 1980s, have enabled the delivery of superior performance. This study will examine all nine Australian jurisdictions, across time in order to identify how and why institutional frameworks changed, analyse the composition of the SES and identify their changing roles and accountabilities. The expected outcomes ....Hierarchy to high-performance? Evaluating 30yrs of Senior Executive Service. This project aims to evaluate whether Senior Executive Service (SES) schemes, introduced in the public sector the 1980s, have enabled the delivery of superior performance. This study will examine all nine Australian jurisdictions, across time in order to identify how and why institutional frameworks changed, analyse the composition of the SES and identify their changing roles and accountabilities. The expected outcomes will provide a better understanding of the profile and roles of executives who lead policy development and service delivery, and an evaluation of whether current institutional frameworks optimise their capacity to perform their role.Read moreRead less
Cabinet Government in comparative perspective. This project explores how cabinet government is, or is not, able to develop a collective will. Cabinets lie at the heart of parliamentary systems, but public and academic analyses question whether they work effectively. Using examples of majoritarian and consensus democratic regimes, this project plans to examine how cabinets work and identify the different functions cabinet plays in developing collective views of policy or political situations. The ....Cabinet Government in comparative perspective. This project explores how cabinet government is, or is not, able to develop a collective will. Cabinets lie at the heart of parliamentary systems, but public and academic analyses question whether they work effectively. Using examples of majoritarian and consensus democratic regimes, this project plans to examine how cabinets work and identify the different functions cabinet plays in developing collective views of policy or political situations. The project expects to illustrates how the different appreciations of cabinet, whether seen as constitutional or operational, or in terms of policy analysis or political contests, help define the values of cabinet and can allow us to understand in what circumstances cabinet government is important in terms of stability and sensible policy. It asks if collective cabinets like Australia's can survive in the 21st century.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
The Accountability of Australian Cabinet Ministers. This project will help shape public expectations about what they should expect in terms of ministerial responsibility through media disseminations of the arguments and analysis of this research. It will help shape media reflection in current ministerial issues by providing readily accessible information on similar issues in the past which will inform public debate as to how far current ministerial actions conform to those of the past, and how ....The Accountability of Australian Cabinet Ministers. This project will help shape public expectations about what they should expect in terms of ministerial responsibility through media disseminations of the arguments and analysis of this research. It will help shape media reflection in current ministerial issues by providing readily accessible information on similar issues in the past which will inform public debate as to how far current ministerial actions conform to those of the past, and how far they depart from them. It will help expectations be shaped by reality showing the degree to which ministerial durability is affected by performance.
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Enrolling the People: The Development of Modern Electoral Administration. In Australia, electoral administration became centralised, professionalised and relatively free of partisan interference during the colonial period. That considerable achievement has been little studied.
The aims of this project are to produce a history of the development of colonial electoral administration; and to isolate the factors that enabled the development of modern electoral administration.
To answer these q ....Enrolling the People: The Development of Modern Electoral Administration. In Australia, electoral administration became centralised, professionalised and relatively free of partisan interference during the colonial period. That considerable achievement has been little studied.
The aims of this project are to produce a history of the development of colonial electoral administration; and to isolate the factors that enabled the development of modern electoral administration.
To answer these questions will illuminate a neglected aspect of Australia's record of institutional innovation. It will also feed directly into the concerns of multilateral bodies over how good electoral practice can be institutionalised.
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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
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