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
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
Collective action and collaborative governance in crisis situations. This project aims at tackling the challenges that coordinated collective action faces in situations of complex crisis. It will generate novel scholarly knowledge that addresses the question of how a heterogeneous collective of actors that transcends organizational and institutional boundaries can establish, sustain, restore, and organize the capacity to act and make appropriate decisions in crisis situations. The expected outco ....Collective action and collaborative governance in crisis situations. This project aims at tackling the challenges that coordinated collective action faces in situations of complex crisis. It will generate novel scholarly knowledge that addresses the question of how a heterogeneous collective of actors that transcends organizational and institutional boundaries can establish, sustain, restore, and organize the capacity to act and make appropriate decisions in crisis situations. The expected outcomes include an improved theoretical understanding of multi-actor collaborative governance in crisis situations by identifying obstacles and governance gaps that need to be overcome. This should provide significant benefits in terms of national and international response strategies to crisis situations of various kind.Read moreRead less
Creating sustainable employment for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups . This project aims to address long-term unemployment and labour market exclusion of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups by generating new employer-led solutions. The project expects to create, with employers, successful strategies for recruiting disadvantaged workers into better quality jobs, and to co-produce best practice employer engagement toolkits and minimum job quality standards. Anticipated outcomes include increasi ....Creating sustainable employment for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups . This project aims to address long-term unemployment and labour market exclusion of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups by generating new employer-led solutions. The project expects to create, with employers, successful strategies for recruiting disadvantaged workers into better quality jobs, and to co-produce best practice employer engagement toolkits and minimum job quality standards. Anticipated outcomes include increasing the success of government-funded employment programs by improving employment opportunities and reducing cycling between work and welfare. Significant benefits for disadvantaged groups, businesses and society will result in increased employee wellbeing, organisational performance and economic competitiveness.Read moreRead less
Organisational change in healthcare: Determinants of effective clinical networks. This research will be internationally leading and place Australia at the forefront of research into organisational change in health care. Developing innovative health care organisational structures, such as clinical networks, has the potential to improve the effectiveness of health care and to reduce costs. Benefits for the community will flow from this project through informed decision making about the best ways t ....Organisational change in healthcare: Determinants of effective clinical networks. This research will be internationally leading and place Australia at the forefront of research into organisational change in health care. Developing innovative health care organisational structures, such as clinical networks, has the potential to improve the effectiveness of health care and to reduce costs. Benefits for the community will flow from this project through informed decision making about the best ways to bring about organisational change in health care. The results of this study will have immediate application to the organisational strategies of the Greater Metropolitan Clinical Taskforce and other national government health care agencies that implement organisational change through clinical networks. Read moreRead less
Examining the impact of marketing communications on brand image, brand equity and behaviour outcomes. The results would help charities in brand building activities through improved marketing communications. For example, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) can understand how to improve their brand equity (e.g. improving loyalty, enhancing brand awareness levels, achieving higher perception of quality as well as enhancing brand image) in their donor markets. Increased commitment from th ....Examining the impact of marketing communications on brand image, brand equity and behaviour outcomes. The results would help charities in brand building activities through improved marketing communications. For example, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) can understand how to improve their brand equity (e.g. improving loyalty, enhancing brand awareness levels, achieving higher perception of quality as well as enhancing brand image) in their donor markets. Increased commitment from the donors is likely to result in benefits such as more blood donations for this charity organisation. This would mean better services provided by ARCBS which would mean promoting and maintaining good health among the Australian public.Read moreRead less
An investigation of supervisory practices for improving occupational health and safety behaviour in construction teams: a cross-level experimental analysis. Construction workers, comprising 8% of the Australian workforce, are a high risk group for occupational fatality, injury and disease. Almost 10% of all injury and death claims in Australia are attributed to construction, creating a significant social and economic burden. The research addresses the previously neglected issue of how first-line ....An investigation of supervisory practices for improving occupational health and safety behaviour in construction teams: a cross-level experimental analysis. Construction workers, comprising 8% of the Australian workforce, are a high risk group for occupational fatality, injury and disease. Almost 10% of all injury and death claims in Australia are attributed to construction, creating a significant social and economic burden. The research addresses the previously neglected issue of how first-line supervisors shape subordinates' safety behaviour. The research makes a significant contribution by identifying and encouraging supervisory behaviours that: (i) create strong, positive safety climates in sub-contracted work crews; (ii) support the translation of organizational OHS policies/procedures into safe practices; and (iii) improve the OHS performance of the construction industry.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
Effective clinical handover communication: improving patient safety, experience and outcomes. Improving written and spoken communication in clinical handover will significantly reduce critical incidents in hospitals. The link between communication and critical incidents in hospitals is well documented. One third of the $2 billion p.a. direct financial costs to Australia of critical incidents, is attributed to poor communication between clinicians. National and international governments and heal ....Effective clinical handover communication: improving patient safety, experience and outcomes. Improving written and spoken communication in clinical handover will significantly reduce critical incidents in hospitals. The link between communication and critical incidents in hospitals is well documented. One third of the $2 billion p.a. direct financial costs to Australia of critical incidents, is attributed to poor communication between clinicians. National and international governments and health agencies have targeted clinical handover as critical in safe, effective health care. This project will generate new knowledge of handover to significantly improve patient safety and enable health professionals to enhance their communicative practices, thereby improving the quality of the patient journey through the hospital system.Read moreRead less
Developing a collaborative approach to ageing well in the community. This project is located within an identified national research priority that of Ageing Well, Ageing Productively. It is also consistent with the goals of the ARC NHMRC Research Network in Ageing Well. While much of the Australian policy debate has previously focused on the negative implications associated with population ageing, it is essential to explore how older people and local communities can age well. The benefit of this ....Developing a collaborative approach to ageing well in the community. This project is located within an identified national research priority that of Ageing Well, Ageing Productively. It is also consistent with the goals of the ARC NHMRC Research Network in Ageing Well. While much of the Australian policy debate has previously focused on the negative implications associated with population ageing, it is essential to explore how older people and local communities can age well. The benefit of this project is that it helps translate national policy directives / goals by offering a framework for action at the local level. Further benefit will derive from the project by enhancing options for community engagement of older people.Read moreRead less