Redistribution and Risk in Contracting Out Government Services. Governments across Australia spend billions of dollars per year on contracting out of their services, yet there is very knowledge of the costs and benefits of contracting out. The existing research on contracting out tends to focus narrowly on issues such as cost. This research will examine a much broader range of consequences associated with contracting out including changes in the distribution of resources, changes in political ....Redistribution and Risk in Contracting Out Government Services. Governments across Australia spend billions of dollars per year on contracting out of their services, yet there is very knowledge of the costs and benefits of contracting out. The existing research on contracting out tends to focus narrowly on issues such as cost. This research will examine a much broader range of consequences associated with contracting out including changes in the distribution of resources, changes in political power between groups and changes in the nature of service delivery. The research will have three outcomes: testing of a systematic framework for evaluating contracting out, new knowledge on the impacts of contracting out across a wider range of outcomes, and an analysis of the distributive relationships associated with contracting out.Read moreRead less
The role of the front line in welfare to work. This project aims to examine the front-line in Australia's primary site of welfare reform - the Job Network. Developed within the genre of street-level policy research, the project intends to examine that point of the policy process where actual outcomes are generated - a site which is largely overlooked in policy research, but which is integral to a comprehensive understanding of how policy works. From the perspective of the long-term unemployed, t ....The role of the front line in welfare to work. This project aims to examine the front-line in Australia's primary site of welfare reform - the Job Network. Developed within the genre of street-level policy research, the project intends to examine that point of the policy process where actual outcomes are generated - a site which is largely overlooked in policy research, but which is integral to a comprehensive understanding of how policy works. From the perspective of the long-term unemployed, the research will explore what works in the relationship between clients and their case managers. It will also explore the experiences of engagement and re-engagement with employment as a consequence of Job Network assistance.Read moreRead less
Socially Responsible Indicators for Policy, Practice and Benchmarking in Service Organisations. The Australian Government, while attempting to limit the spiralling costs of the welfare state, has encouraged market principles and practices in service organisations. This has raised value dilemmas and administrative tensions for education and welfare organisations who, while committed to social justice and social responsibility, have to operate efficiently and effectively. This research aims, thr ....Socially Responsible Indicators for Policy, Practice and Benchmarking in Service Organisations. The Australian Government, while attempting to limit the spiralling costs of the welfare state, has encouraged market principles and practices in service organisations. This has raised value dilemmas and administrative tensions for education and welfare organisations who, while committed to social justice and social responsibility, have to operate efficiently and effectively. This research aims, through the identification and analysis of tensions between social and economic value orientations in the workplace, to develop a values framework and key socially responsible indicators for the improvement of policy, decision making and practice within the Industry Partners and the wider service sectors.Read moreRead less
The utilisation of social science research in policy development and program review. This project will enhance the use of evidence in social policy and improve the relevance of applied social research. It will produce new insights into factors affecting the success of evidence-based decision-making by examining social research utilisation within various agencies at federal and state levels. National and community benefits centre on how to improve the policy uptake of social research. This will c ....The utilisation of social science research in policy development and program review. This project will enhance the use of evidence in social policy and improve the relevance of applied social research. It will produce new insights into factors affecting the success of evidence-based decision-making by examining social research utilisation within various agencies at federal and state levels. National and community benefits centre on how to improve the policy uptake of social research. This will contribute to the development of improved support systems to enhance the consideration of evidence-based policy. Outcomes will be applicable to governments, policy-makers and academics in Australia and abroad. Ways to improve research partnerships between academic social scientists and public sector agencies will be identified. Read moreRead less
Decision making in international organisations: who and what shapes decisions? This project explores the working of seven international organisations (IOs) to ask who or what shapes what IOs do. Using public policy concepts to analyse the contributions of state representatives, chief executives and staff within IOs, this project seeks to provide more realistic appreciation of what IOs can achieve.
Strengthening Health Workforce Migration to Australia and Canada. The project aims to define skilled migration trends in relation to the key fields (medicine, nursing and dentistry). Australia is one of very few countries with an explicit policy to import migrant health professionals. The project plans to assess if the goal of domestic self-sufficiency is likely to be met by 2025 and examine the risk of a ‘two tier’ health workforce developing (with conditionally registered migrants servicing pa ....Strengthening Health Workforce Migration to Australia and Canada. The project aims to define skilled migration trends in relation to the key fields (medicine, nursing and dentistry). Australia is one of very few countries with an explicit policy to import migrant health professionals. The project plans to assess if the goal of domestic self-sufficiency is likely to be met by 2025 and examine the risk of a ‘two tier’ health workforce developing (with conditionally registered migrants servicing patients in undersupplied sectors and sites). It then aims to propose changes to make the migration and health policy systems more effective and ethical in future compared to Canada (Australia’s key global competitor for skilled migrants), through evidence-based policy reform.Read moreRead less
Transforming tobacco policy to deliver societal benefits. This project aims to develop new regulatory options for tobacco to minimise the legal market while avoiding the adverse societal and economic impacts of transferring consumer demand to illegal tobacco products. It addresses a significant current concern about a growing illegal tobacco market and seeks to improve understanding of the impact of tobacco control policies on the illegal market, and the societal impacts. The project also seeks ....Transforming tobacco policy to deliver societal benefits. This project aims to develop new regulatory options for tobacco to minimise the legal market while avoiding the adverse societal and economic impacts of transferring consumer demand to illegal tobacco products. It addresses a significant current concern about a growing illegal tobacco market and seeks to improve understanding of the impact of tobacco control policies on the illegal market, and the societal impacts. The project also seeks to draw insights from illicit drug policy to understand potential consequences of greater restrictions on the legal tobacco market. The expected outcomes include an enhanced monitoring system for illicit tobacco and policy recommendations to achieve government goals of reducing smoking rates.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101131
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$458,039.00
Summary
Understanding drivers and deterrents of Australia's illicit tobacco market. As Australia implements policies that reduce the availability and affordability of tobacco, demand for illicit tobacco is likely to grow. This research aims to generate new knowledge about the drivers and deterrents of demand for illicit tobacco through three inter-related projects. Expected outcomes include a comprehensive understanding of factors influencing Australians’ demand for illicit tobacco, and expert-informed ....Understanding drivers and deterrents of Australia's illicit tobacco market. As Australia implements policies that reduce the availability and affordability of tobacco, demand for illicit tobacco is likely to grow. This research aims to generate new knowledge about the drivers and deterrents of demand for illicit tobacco through three inter-related projects. Expected outcomes include a comprehensive understanding of factors influencing Australians’ demand for illicit tobacco, and expert-informed policy recommendations to reduce demand for and deter use of illicit tobacco. With no substantive Australian research on this topic for more than 15 years, this research will be essential to reduce the impacts of the illicit tobacco market, including substantial losses in tax revenue and the funding of organised crime.Read moreRead less
Sparking a National Conversation. This project aims to understand why some promises of a ‘national conversation’ on a policy issue seem to be mere hyperbole, while others seem more authentic. Using an evaluative framework based on the latest democratic theory, and the aims and understandings of key actors in each case, the project plans to compare three cases that claimed to spark a national conversation: the Scottish National Conversation 2007–14; debates around the Affordable Care Act in the U ....Sparking a National Conversation. This project aims to understand why some promises of a ‘national conversation’ on a policy issue seem to be mere hyperbole, while others seem more authentic. Using an evaluative framework based on the latest democratic theory, and the aims and understandings of key actors in each case, the project plans to compare three cases that claimed to spark a national conversation: the Scottish National Conversation 2007–14; debates around the Affordable Care Act in the United States, 2009; and the ongoing issue of Indigenous constitutional recognition in Australia. The project aims to identify why some real-world efforts work better than others, and draw lessons for replicating best practice in Australia. Project outcomes may provide advice to policy-makers on how to engage citizens better in the major issues of the day.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