How governments innovate: Networks, normative frames and leadership styles. This project addresses the national research priority goal of promoting an innovation culture and economy. Understanding the development and uptake of innovative ideas is critical for maximising Australia's creative capability. Improving our understanding of how policy leaders frame innovation, who they source innovative policy ideas from and how, and what individual and collective resources they draw upon is key to unde ....How governments innovate: Networks, normative frames and leadership styles. This project addresses the national research priority goal of promoting an innovation culture and economy. Understanding the development and uptake of innovative ideas is critical for maximising Australia's creative capability. Improving our understanding of how policy leaders frame innovation, who they source innovative policy ideas from and how, and what individual and collective resources they draw upon is key to understanding the factors conducive to innovation and its acceptance. This project will provide vital information on structures and processes for encouraging and managing innovation, and will lead to more responsive pathways for innovation, better governance systems and better policy outcomes.Read moreRead less
Academic networks and performance frameworks: Comparing the impact of policy on knowledge generation across disciplines and countries. Australian universities are central to the infrastructure that develops and fosters human talent and encourages innovation, through producing research, providing training, and transferring the knowledge they generate to government and the Australian community. This proposal falls with National Research Priority 3 - promoting an innovation culture and economy. It ....Academic networks and performance frameworks: Comparing the impact of policy on knowledge generation across disciplines and countries. Australian universities are central to the infrastructure that develops and fosters human talent and encourages innovation, through producing research, providing training, and transferring the knowledge they generate to government and the Australian community. This proposal falls with National Research Priority 3 - promoting an innovation culture and economy. It will provide an essential framework for immediate use in examining the consequences of the new research performance and funding arrangements being introduced in 2007, and assessing the impacts of policies that encourage collaboration. The comparisons with three other countries with similar policy goals will generate insights on how policy can best support knowledge generation.Read moreRead less
Creating Collaborative Advantage through Better Network Governance: A Comparative Study of New Institutions and Instruments. By harnessing the embedded resources of different government and service delivery organisations operating at community level, and by removing costly boundary problems between them, governments can address the needs of citizens in a more wholistic and flexible manner. But to do this in a coherent way it is necessary to develop new institutional rules and organisational proc ....Creating Collaborative Advantage through Better Network Governance: A Comparative Study of New Institutions and Instruments. By harnessing the embedded resources of different government and service delivery organisations operating at community level, and by removing costly boundary problems between them, governments can address the needs of citizens in a more wholistic and flexible manner. But to do this in a coherent way it is necessary to develop new institutional rules and organisational processes to allow agencies to collaborate without fear of reduced accountability or syphoning of public funds. The project will examine the structures and processes used in a selection of leading international cases in order to improve Australia's performance in gaining a collaborative advantage for citizens and agencies.Read moreRead less
Fostering Innovation Inside Government: The Role of Structural and Personal Networks in Improving Innovation Performance Among Politicians and Bureaucrats. Innovation is the engine of the new global economy.The Prime Minster's Australia Day Statement 'Backing Australia's Ability' put innovation at the top of the government agenda. Unfortunately most research and public policy ignores the participation of government itself, apart from its fiscal role. This new study takes the innovation question ....Fostering Innovation Inside Government: The Role of Structural and Personal Networks in Improving Innovation Performance Among Politicians and Bureaucrats. Innovation is the engine of the new global economy.The Prime Minster's Australia Day Statement 'Backing Australia's Ability' put innovation at the top of the government agenda. Unfortunately most research and public policy ignores the participation of government itself, apart from its fiscal role. This new study takes the innovation question inside government to map the path to innovation and to analyse how networking determines outcomes. The study considers both structural and personal networks and considers variations in how they are related. Outcomes will include a new model for governmental innovation and methods for performance improvement inside governmental systems.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
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
Trade policy: maximising benefits for nutrition, food security, human health, and the economy. Depending on how it is done, trade can be good or bad for peoples' health and social well-being. This study will provide evidence to support the development of trade policy which combines economic as well as social and health goals. This will help improve global food security and human health, reduce poverty and support good international relations.
Catching capital: Understanding and influencing corporate tax strategy. This project aims to analyse the factors which influence the tax strategies of large multi-national corporations, and explain variations in behaviour between firms and industry sectors. Identifying reforms that exert the greatest influence over corporate behaviour will enable reforms which refine and improve the efficacy of international tax regimes. The expected outcomes will provide an evidence base for policy makers to ev ....Catching capital: Understanding and influencing corporate tax strategy. This project aims to analyse the factors which influence the tax strategies of large multi-national corporations, and explain variations in behaviour between firms and industry sectors. Identifying reforms that exert the greatest influence over corporate behaviour will enable reforms which refine and improve the efficacy of international tax regimes. The expected outcomes will provide an evidence base for policy makers to evaluate and refine corporate tax reform initiatives.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
A taxonomy of Australian consumers' food and health knowledge. Identification and measurement of the basic dimensions of food knowledge of consumers will inform new education curricula and community communication programs. The findings will enable better targeting of community and industry education by policy planners, education authorities, and the food industry. They will also enable monitoring and evaluation of food communication programs. In the longer term, this research may also enable cit ....A taxonomy of Australian consumers' food and health knowledge. Identification and measurement of the basic dimensions of food knowledge of consumers will inform new education curricula and community communication programs. The findings will enable better targeting of community and industry education by policy planners, education authorities, and the food industry. They will also enable monitoring and evaluation of food communication programs. In the longer term, this research may also enable citizens to deal with the changes caused by climate change, metabolic disease and increasing longevity; help educate more literate food industry workers; enhance communications between citizens, industry and government; and generate greater demand for higher quality food products.
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