The Harper Review proposed increased competition in the social services sector. Below, Vin Martin & Dennis Fitzgerald from Catholic Social Services Australia respond.
Read MoreWe've run a few pieces this year on the impact/outcome funding debate. James Rees has run a three part piece (part 3 still to come) on different aspects of the impact agenda, including possible pitfalls and how one might differentiate the contribution of community-based organisations within such an agenda. Fiona Buick, Pauline McLoughlin and I also wrote piece on the potential benefits of outcomes based funding. Impact and outcome tend to get a little tangled up in these discussions. Below, Andrew Harding does a little disentangling. Andrew Harding is undertaking a doctoral research project at Bournemouth University with Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC). This piece first appeared on the LSE Impact Blog
Read MoreIn this post to mark Social Inclusion Week (Nov 22-30), Chris Stone writes that new integrated approaches to the complex issue of youth homelessness is offering hope for young people and communities.
Read MoreDuncan Green, strategic adviser for Oxfam GB and author of ‘From Poverty to Power’ offers some tips, observations and concerns about 'Doing Development Differently' that are likely to strike a chord for readers in the social and health sectors too.
Thanks to Duncan for permission to republish the article, originally published on his blog.
Read MoreThe push to collaborate has increased the complexity of the policy-making and policy-implementation processes.
To collaborate effectively, the right supports and platforms are necessary. In this post, Dr Gemma Carey from Australian National University reflects on this problem, and what she and others are doing to remedy it.
Read MoreIn today's post, Kate Hauser, Health Promotion Worker at Women’s Health West, the women’s health service for the western metropolitan region of Melbourne, explores the implications of VicHealth's recently released National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey.
Read MoreSupporting people into paid work has many positive benefits, but are current 'earn or learn' policies in regards to young people going to help or hinder their economic participation? In this post, Tanya Corrie and Susan Maury from Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand reflect on what the evidence says, and ways policy can be built to enable better outcomes.
Read MoreI know it's the question that keeps you awake at night...'If I were a program evaluation' you think to yourself, 'what kind would I be?'
Read MoreThe 2014 Power to Persuade Symposium was held in Melbourne on the 16th of September. One of our afternoon sessions, ‘Practical Strategies for Implementation’ focussed on a participatory workshop process, where the symposium attendees were asked to reflect on their work. This article summarises the key themes that arose from this workshop process.
Read MoreCynicism has been creeping into debates over evidence-based policy. We've certainly noticed this in the last two PTP symposiums, with speakers urging a more realistic adoption of 'informed policy'. Below,Kathryn Oliver, Simon Innvær, Theo Lorenc, Jenny Woodman, andJames Thomas examine some of the on-going barriers to evidence-based (and even evidence-informed) policy. This post originally appeared on the LSE Impact Blog.
Read MoreDr James Rees (@JamesRees_tsrc) from the Third Sector Research Centre examines the challenges of emerging 'impact agendas' with regard to funding community sector organisations. This is the second of three blog posts from James which tackle different aspects of this issue.Part one, Taming the monster', examined the value add of the community sector in service delivery and policy implementation.
Read MoreThis post originally appeared on Professor Christina Boswell's personal blog, but we felt it was highly relevant in Australia particularly given the recently announced review of the ARC's Cooperative Research Centre program. Christina in a Professor of Politics at the University of Edinburgh, her research explores the use of knowledge in policymaking and politics.
Read MoreWhen we think about policy and politics, we tend to gravitate to the elite - concentrating on the efforts of a select few in shaping the process. In today's post, Dr Kemran Mestan provides a timely reminder to not lose sight of policy effects.
Kemran is a senior research officer at La Trobe University, you can read more about his research here.
Read MorePolicy that targets those groups most in need is the fairest way to distribute limited resources, right? Not necessarily, writes Dr Gemma Carey.
Read MoreAt this year's Power to Persuade Symposium, we looked at the role of data vs anecdote in influencing policy. Prof Richard Madden, from Sydney University, reminded us that statistics also have a good story to tell if we are only prepared to listen...
Read MoreBy Leo Fieldgrass, National Director of the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) and Manager of Participation and Development at the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVic)
Read MoreIn this post below, republished with permission, Professor Christina Boswell asks how we can tell what function research is playing in policy-making? It's a timely question ahead of tomorrow's 2014 Power to Persuade symposium.
Christina Boswell is Professor of Politics at the University of Edinburgh and writes on politics, knowledge and immigration at her blog, where this article was originally published.
Read MoreThe current government’s reform agenda has been analysed from many angles. In this article Susan Maury, Social Policy Researcher from Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, suggests using the lens of motivational psychology to design effective responses to complex social problems. Policies such as ‘work for the dole’ have not proven nearly as effective as holistic support such as Youth Connections, which had 94% of participants still engaged in employment or education six months after completing the program. There is a wealth of evidence about what motivates people to change their behaviour that does not seem to be part of the current policy debate.
Read MoreThe McClure interim report raises many questions about the structure and adequacy of Australia’s welfare system. It highlights that single parents, carers and people with disability have lower levels of employment than others in the community, and that the income support and welfare systems need to reflect the needs and challenges of these groups.
What is not explicit is the gendered nature of this problem. Dr Rhonda Cumberland, CEO of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, reflects that by ignoring gender, the review neglects some of the preventable costs that can be reduced in the Australian welfare system.
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