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
Protecting while they prosper? Organisational responses to whistleblowing. This project aims to examine the adequacy of organisational responses to whistleblowing (employee reporting of wrongdoing). So far, research into public-interest whistleblowing has revealed much about the incidence, significance and experience of whistleblowers. This project now extends the research to the other side of the issue — the organisations. By comparing employee and managerial experience in multiple public and p ....Protecting while they prosper? Organisational responses to whistleblowing. This project aims to examine the adequacy of organisational responses to whistleblowing (employee reporting of wrongdoing). So far, research into public-interest whistleblowing has revealed much about the incidence, significance and experience of whistleblowers. This project now extends the research to the other side of the issue — the organisations. By comparing employee and managerial experience in multiple public and private sector organisations in Australia and New Zealand, the project intends to identify the factors that influence good and bad responses across a range of institutions; provide a clearer basis for reform of policies, procedures and law; and set benchmarks for comparative research worldwide.Read moreRead less
Whistling While They Work: Enhancing the Theory and Practice of Internal Witness Management in Public Sector Organisations. The protection of whistleblowers and other internal witnesses to corruption, misconduct and maladministration is a great unsolved problem in public sector governance. Involving 11 integrity institutions, this first national study of internal witness management will describe and compare organisational experience under varying public interest disclosure regimes across the Au ....Whistling While They Work: Enhancing the Theory and Practice of Internal Witness Management in Public Sector Organisations. The protection of whistleblowers and other internal witnesses to corruption, misconduct and maladministration is a great unsolved problem in public sector governance. Involving 11 integrity institutions, this first national study of internal witness management will describe and compare organisational experience under varying public interest disclosure regimes across the Australian public sector. By identifying and promoting current best practice in workplace responses to public interest whistleblowing, the project will use the experience and perceptions of internal witnesses and first- and second-level managers to identify more routine strategies for preventing, reducing and addressing reprisals and other whistleblowing-related conflicts.Read moreRead less
Developing new methods for building health policy capacity in Australia. This project will contribute to improving the capacity for policy analysis, development and evaluation in the health policy workforce and state health jurisdictions in this country. Building health policy capacity will enable the Australian health system to more effectively address current and emerging challenges including an ageing population, increasing incidence of chronic disease, pressures for cost containment, continu ....Developing new methods for building health policy capacity in Australia. This project will contribute to improving the capacity for policy analysis, development and evaluation in the health policy workforce and state health jurisdictions in this country. Building health policy capacity will enable the Australian health system to more effectively address current and emerging challenges including an ageing population, increasing incidence of chronic disease, pressures for cost containment, continuing poor Aboriginal health and emerging threats to Australia's public health, health security and National Health Strategy.Read moreRead less
The Kids in Communities Study: national investigation of community level effects on children's developmental outcomes. This project (a cross-disciplinary collaboration) will investigate community level factors influencing early childhood developmental outcomes using a mixed methods approach in up to 10 communities across Australia. This will result in a potential set of measures or indicators that reflect communities that are good for children.
Alcohol’s harm to others: patterns, costs, disparities and precipitants. This project aims to generate understanding of the magnitude, character, economic burden, disparities and precipitants of occurrence of alcohol’s harm to others across Australia, using a national survey, crime, community services and health data and qualitative interviews. The project outcome will be a robust current evidence base for our partners, government and Australian society to underpin advocacy, policy and planning, ....Alcohol’s harm to others: patterns, costs, disparities and precipitants. This project aims to generate understanding of the magnitude, character, economic burden, disparities and precipitants of occurrence of alcohol’s harm to others across Australia, using a national survey, crime, community services and health data and qualitative interviews. The project outcome will be a robust current evidence base for our partners, government and Australian society to underpin advocacy, policy and planning, aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm and suffering.Read moreRead less
Public lessons, private interests: Do inquiries promote industry change? Mineral resource extraction is increasingly contentious and conflictual. Leading global companies are responding to high profile issues by commissioning independent inquiries into past events with the reports released publicly. Little is known about the governance arrangements of these inquiries, their independence, or their role in stimulating change. This project aims to investigate the utility of independent inquiries co ....Public lessons, private interests: Do inquiries promote industry change? Mineral resource extraction is increasingly contentious and conflictual. Leading global companies are responding to high profile issues by commissioning independent inquiries into past events with the reports released publicly. Little is known about the governance arrangements of these inquiries, their independence, or their role in stimulating change. This project aims to investigate the utility of independent inquiries commissioned by global mining companies for different stakeholder groups. By drawing comparisons with government-led commissions of inquiry, the project aims to develop guidelines for industry inquiries to achieve meaningful change and improve resource governance outcomes globally.Read moreRead less
Understanding engagement to regulate the commercial determinants of health. This project aims to generate new knowledge on how government and non-government organisations can prevent
poor health via their effective regulation of harmful commodity industries, specifically alcohol and highly-processed
food. The significance of this project is its innovative approach to regulation, with a focus on engagement
processes between state and non-state actors for the management of harmful commodities. Exp ....Understanding engagement to regulate the commercial determinants of health. This project aims to generate new knowledge on how government and non-government organisations can prevent
poor health via their effective regulation of harmful commodity industries, specifically alcohol and highly-processed
food. The significance of this project is its innovative approach to regulation, with a focus on engagement
processes between state and non-state actors for the management of harmful commodities. Expected outcomes
include improved methodologies in the field of health governance, and enhanced capacity among Partner
organisations to engage effectively with different industries. These outcomes should benefit health policy
prevention goals.Read moreRead less
Confronting everyday harms: preventing abuse of people with disability. The findings of the Disability Royal Commission necessitate new approaches to prevent violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. Framed by recognition theory, this project proposes empirical research with young people with cognitive disability, using a new concept of ‘everyday harms’ in their paid relationships. The results will inform early responses to poor quality interactions in disability support. The strategic alliance ....Confronting everyday harms: preventing abuse of people with disability. The findings of the Disability Royal Commission necessitate new approaches to prevent violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. Framed by recognition theory, this project proposes empirical research with young people with cognitive disability, using a new concept of ‘everyday harms’ in their paid relationships. The results will inform early responses to poor quality interactions in disability support. The strategic alliances with the government, industry and community partners will develop a practice framework to prevent everyday harms and the escalation to abuse, and to promote safety and wellbeing. The research has policy benefits for capacity-building in the sector to act on the rights and voices of people with disability. Read moreRead less
An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. This project aims to assess the effect of 2.00am cease of alcohol service for licensed venues across Queensland, identify modifiable elements and develop policy advice. Alcohol-related harm is a major social order issue which requires evidence-based policy. Using the most sophisticated models to date—including outlet density, enforcement, demographic variables and other ....An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. This project aims to assess the effect of 2.00am cease of alcohol service for licensed venues across Queensland, identify modifiable elements and develop policy advice. Alcohol-related harm is a major social order issue which requires evidence-based policy. Using the most sophisticated models to date—including outlet density, enforcement, demographic variables and other variables—this project will build unique datasets, including archival data, foot-traffic counting, key stakeholder and patron interviews, to evaluate the effect of alcohol restrictions and identify policy lessons for other jurisdictions in Australia and internationally.Read moreRead less