Last Monday I was lucky enough to get along to the John Freebairn Lecture in Public Policy at the University of Melbourne delivered this year by John Quiggin. On ‘Economic Policy for the 21st Century’ it was a great primer on current thinking about economic growth and provided an excellent preparation for making sense of the budget speeches later in the week.
Read MoreSubtle policy changes, such as changes to indexation rules, competition, and payments to providers, can be similar to direct attacks on public provision. Dr Ben Spies-Butcher (@SensibleBSB) looks at the example of the 'unwinding' of Australia's universal health system.
Read MoreThere is plenty of debate about outcomes in the social services sector at the moment: how to identify them, how to measure them, how to use them for continuous improvement, and how to report back on them. Recently, Susan Maury, Policy & Research Specialist with Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand @GoodAdvocacy @SusanMaury, presented on an unusual approach to developing outcomes. Here she expands on the possibilities.
Read MoreI have been working in the field of evaluation for the past eight years and I think what I have learnt most about evaluation in this time is that it is a crowded market. A lot of people are involved in the practice of evaluation. And while I have never conducted a scientific study, I have found it truly shocking how many practising evaluators know little to nothing about evaluation theory. Or know a lot about applied research methods and consider this an acceptable substitute for knowledge about evaluation.
Read MoreMine was not the only heart warmed by the recent public celebrations of the grand contributions of Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser to building a greater Australia. In tune with their era they understood the vital roles of democracy and social policy alongside the mixed economy in building a good society. And I will not be the only one frustrated by the grotesque banalities of the recommendations for ‘human services’ in Ian Harper’s - back to Hilmer!’ (1995) - report on competition policy. It is irretrievably locked in a market utopian policy time warp
Read MoreFollowing on from our post last week, below Jon Altman offers his thoughts on Indigenous Work for the Dole policies. Jon Altman is an emeritus professor of the Australian National University based at the Regulatory Institutions Network (RegNet), College of Asia and the Pacific, ANU. From 1990–2010 he was foundation director of the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research.
Read MoreThe McClure Review provides us with the opportunity to 'upgrade' the welfare policy debate and start to genuinely frame welfare as social investment. Prof. Paul Smyth explores that there needs to be a real understanding of what welfare as investment actually means, with the right social policy nous and frameworks to ensure it is not another punitive measure to individualise social policy problems.
Read MoreI dreamt I had a phone call from Scott Morrison now Minister for Social Services. He explained that his newly repentant government had realised it was out of step with the Australian people on social policy matters. He wanted to establish better communication with the people and, hearing that I had studied Australian social policy for so many years, wondered if we might chat about the ‘Australian Way’.
Read MoreThis case study explains how I used an outcomes framework to help design an Indigenous youth program.
Read MoreIn this case study we talk about how we used digital storytelling in a longitudinal evaluation of a school-based orchestral music program.
Read MoreThis is the first of three case studies I will be posting about evaluation this week.
Read MoreThis week is all about practical case studies in evaluation. In particular, this week is all about how I do on-the-ground evaluations with programs.
Read MoreThis is an excerpt from a talk given last night to Social Policy Connections AGM by Dr Paul Smyth (full paper will shortly be available on the SPC website http://www.socialpolicyconnections.com.au/ ). It is a call to action for faith-based organisations and advocates, to come out unequivocally and assertively with the message that the Good Society is created in spaces and through narratives that the weakening PaleoLiberal rationale cannot reach or answer.
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 MoreIn his latest Social Policy Whisperer column below, Prof. Paul Smyth from the University of Melbourne says we should not be looking for advice on the future of our social services from a quasi market perspective.
Read MoreReviewing the health of the social sectors requires an appreciation of social work, political science and sociology theories. Why then , is it left in the hands of economists? Social Policy Whisperer, Prof Paul Smyth, shares his reflections on the Competition Policy Review.
Read MoreFew issues could be of more importance to Power to Persuade readers than the current crisis in Australia’s voluntary welfare sector. Its epicentre is Victoria in the wake of the early implementations of the Shergold report but its reach is bound to be national as other state and federal governments look to the social service marketization template being proffered in the Competition Policy Review. I offered my academic take on this development in ‘The Lady Vanishes Australia’s Disappearing Voluntary Sector’ and wont revisit that here. However the paper led to a range of engagements and discussions with people from the sector and it is that experience which I would like to share.
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 MoreProf Paul Smyth examines the similarities between the Australian Government's approach to social policy and the UK's Big Society agenda and warns that rather than emulate this unsuccessful approach to social investment we should be adopting alternatives such as Inclusive Growth.
Read MoreYears of research neglect have left the Abbott government ill prepared for the challenge of welfare reform. Its first budget disaster arose precisely because it did not understand the post financial crisis policy context. Its calls for economic heavy lifting have not been matched by distributional fairness. Having experienced a period of economic reform when the benefits went disproportionately to the rich, people now simply wont buy an economic reform program which is not also socially inclusive. The question is can the government learn quickly enough on the job to get its social policy agenda on track before the next election?
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