Designing illicit drug policy solutions: the role of participation. This project aims to study whether the design of illicit drug policies can be enhanced with participation. As a complex social problem, the development of new policy design solutions requires participatory processes which engage multiple stakeholders and make explicit the underlying values and goals. The project aims to study the effects of participatory policy design and generate new innovative technologies of participation. Th ....Designing illicit drug policy solutions: the role of participation. This project aims to study whether the design of illicit drug policies can be enhanced with participation. As a complex social problem, the development of new policy design solutions requires participatory processes which engage multiple stakeholders and make explicit the underlying values and goals. The project aims to study the effects of participatory policy design and generate new innovative technologies of participation. The expected outcomes are new knowledge and practices for policy design, including policy design solutions for three current policy dilemmas for Australian governments. The benefits of more effective and participatory illicit drug policies include the economic, social and health gains accrued when policy works.Read moreRead less
The science-policy interface in policy theories: a comparative case study of street-level policing for illicit drugs. This project will analyse two prominent policy process theories by their application to illicit drugs policing case studies, this having never previously been done. The project aims to assess the scientific merit of the two competing policy process theories; examine their applicability to policing; and study the ways in which each theory can account for the interface between scie ....The science-policy interface in policy theories: a comparative case study of street-level policing for illicit drugs. This project will analyse two prominent policy process theories by their application to illicit drugs policing case studies, this having never previously been done. The project aims to assess the scientific merit of the two competing policy process theories; examine their applicability to policing; and study the ways in which each theory can account for the interface between science and policy. The project will create new knowledge in relation to the scientific merit of the theories, and the role of science in police policy formation. This new knowledge will assist those working at the interface between science and policy to enhance policy analysis and policy influence in this strongly contested domain.Read moreRead less
The Dynamics of Low Income, Welfare reliance, and Changes in the Family Stucture of Parents with Dependent children. We build a new seven-year longitudinal database, from FaCS administrative records and supplementary surveys, for low income parents with dependent children to analyse the dynamics of, and interrationships among, changes in family structure, income and welfare reliance. We identify and analyse exit and entry routes from low income, short and long run welfare receipt and movement fr ....The Dynamics of Low Income, Welfare reliance, and Changes in the Family Stucture of Parents with Dependent children. We build a new seven-year longitudinal database, from FaCS administrative records and supplementary surveys, for low income parents with dependent children to analyse the dynamics of, and interrationships among, changes in family structure, income and welfare reliance. We identify and analyse exit and entry routes from low income, short and long run welfare receipt and movement from one program to another, and highlight locational/regional variations in these movements. The project will help policy makers evaluate the impacts of existing programs and will change the nature and significance of Australian research and policy development in welfare dependency and support.Read moreRead less
From entitlement to experiment: The new governance of welfare to work. This project aims to model and explain the governance dynamics of welfare to work in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Australia regularly undertakes major governance reforms in providing welfare to the unemployed and other groups in need. In this dynamic environment, welfare agencies are struggling to deliver benefits to the most disadvantaged people. Services must balance the need to meet central performance re ....From entitlement to experiment: The new governance of welfare to work. This project aims to model and explain the governance dynamics of welfare to work in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Australia regularly undertakes major governance reforms in providing welfare to the unemployed and other groups in need. In this dynamic environment, welfare agencies are struggling to deliver benefits to the most disadvantaged people. Services must balance the need to meet central performance requirements against the desire to help clients. The project aims to create a new framework for understanding how policy instruments and design experiments can improve services for those who are in need.Read moreRead less
What counts is what is counted: performance measurement and its consequences. Measuring public sector performance is important as it potentially improves services and saves money, but it has become increasingly time and resource consuming. This project will analyse performance measurement and its consequences, and generate information on how governments can contain its growth and reduce its undesirable consequences.
Material well-being in the Australian welfare state. This project will use Australian Bureau of Statistics data on incomes, wealth and time use to construct a picture of material well-being in contemporary Australia. The results will show how material well-being relates to stages in the life cycle, to family types, and to relative affluence and relative poverty. Comparisons will be drawn between these results and a similar Australian study based on data from the late 1980s. International compari ....Material well-being in the Australian welfare state. This project will use Australian Bureau of Statistics data on incomes, wealth and time use to construct a picture of material well-being in contemporary Australia. The results will show how material well-being relates to stages in the life cycle, to family types, and to relative affluence and relative poverty. Comparisons will be drawn between these results and a similar Australian study based on data from the late 1980s. International comparisons will also be attempted. The findings provide important guidelines for public policy and especially for welfare policy.Read moreRead less
Resolving Complex Policy Problems - the role of social science. This project will show how social science research can enhance policy decision-making on complex social issues. Factors which help or hinder productive use of social research will be identified, and models for improving these relationships will be examined. The project investigates complex case-studies to develop richer explanations of how social research findings could be more fully utilised in resolving complex policy problems. Th ....Resolving Complex Policy Problems - the role of social science. This project will show how social science research can enhance policy decision-making on complex social issues. Factors which help or hinder productive use of social research will be identified, and models for improving these relationships will be examined. The project investigates complex case-studies to develop richer explanations of how social research findings could be more fully utilised in resolving complex policy problems. The project builds on international research to provide a deeper understanding of the direct and indirect impacts of social research in policymaking. It will develop new approaches to how social science researchers demonstrate ‘value’ and benefits to government and other partners. Read moreRead less
Who acquires infection from whom across international borders? New approaches for control of emerging infections through understanding travel patterns. Mathematical modelling of data on travellers traversing Australia's borders and their contact patterns can be used to understand the pathways by which infectious diseases enter and spread in Australia. Currently available social contact data which informs models are inadequate and outdated. Gathering new data relevant to modern society will help ....Who acquires infection from whom across international borders? New approaches for control of emerging infections through understanding travel patterns. Mathematical modelling of data on travellers traversing Australia's borders and their contact patterns can be used to understand the pathways by which infectious diseases enter and spread in Australia. Currently available social contact data which informs models are inadequate and outdated. Gathering new data relevant to modern society will help control future infectious disease threats to our society. Our aim is to collect detailed, unique data on demography, behavioural and social patterns of travellers and residents, and use this to develop mathematical models to evaluate effective control measures for emerging infections in Australia. This study will make a unique contribution to national disease control policy.Read moreRead less
The deterrent effects of Australian drug law enforcement. Drug law enforcement efforts have been underpinned by the assumption that police deter or prevent drug use and trafficking, yet deterrent effects have gone unexamined or measured using narrow parameters. By using modern criminological conceptualisations of deterrence and innovative methods, this project aims to measure the deterrent effects of four Australian policing strategies on current and would-be offenders' decisions to use, possess ....The deterrent effects of Australian drug law enforcement. Drug law enforcement efforts have been underpinned by the assumption that police deter or prevent drug use and trafficking, yet deterrent effects have gone unexamined or measured using narrow parameters. By using modern criminological conceptualisations of deterrence and innovative methods, this project aims to measure the deterrent effects of four Australian policing strategies on current and would-be offenders' decisions to use, possess and traffic illicit drugs and identify mechanisms by which police can and cannot deter. The project aims to provide detailed empirical insight into an enduring policy conundrum, namely the extent to which police can be expected to deter, and build capacity for more evidence-informed responses to drug-related crime.Read moreRead less
Assessing the Impact of Public Finances on the PNG-Australia Borderland. The project aims to address a vexed public policy problem of how to better manage the flow of public finances and people across our international borders. Torres Strait Islanders and Papua New Guinea (PNG) nationals living in the PNG–Australia borderland have relatively unrestricted access across the border for traditional activities, under the legal framework of the Torres Strait Treaty. The interplay of public finance exp ....Assessing the Impact of Public Finances on the PNG-Australia Borderland. The project aims to address a vexed public policy problem of how to better manage the flow of public finances and people across our international borders. Torres Strait Islanders and Papua New Guinea (PNG) nationals living in the PNG–Australia borderland have relatively unrestricted access across the border for traditional activities, under the legal framework of the Torres Strait Treaty. The interplay of public finance expenditure emanating from Australia strongly dominates the borderland economy, influencing cross-border mobility and attendant public health and security risks from disease transmission, quarantine and transnational crime. By problematising current policy framings and analysing the asymmetric socio-economic context of the region relative to other borderlands internationally, the project aims to propose alternative finance modalities that improve effectiveness across both sides of the border.Read moreRead less