Eight Reflections on policy advice in Australia
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Carmen Lawrence
Abstract
Any investigation of public policy necessarily canvasses questions of what governments do, why they do it and what difference it makes. This means examining not only who and what influences government activity, but also who devises policies and on what evidence.It means asking how to collectively decide what problems are worth worrying about and which to ignore. There is, inevitably, a great deal of uncertainty in judgments about which policies will be the most effective in producing desired outcomes and which policies will appeal to and be accepted by voters. In reality, most policies are really large scale field experiments conducted without much in the way of supportive evidence and often without follow up to check whether they worked. This chapter provides a practitioner’s perspective on the role of policy analysis.
Abstract
Any investigation of public policy necessarily canvasses questions of what governments do, why they do it and what difference it makes. This means examining not only who and what influences government activity, but also who devises policies and on what evidence.It means asking how to collectively decide what problems are worth worrying about and which to ignore. There is, inevitably, a great deal of uncertainty in judgments about which policies will be the most effective in producing desired outcomes and which policies will appeal to and be accepted by voters. In reality, most policies are really large scale field experiments conducted without much in the way of supportive evidence and often without follow up to check whether they worked. This chapter provides a practitioner’s perspective on the role of policy analysis.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Contents v
- List of tables and figures vii
- List of abbreviations viii
- Australian states and territories; Australian governments from 1972; and map of Australian states and territories xi
- Notes on contributors xiii
- Editors’ introduction to the series xvii
- Foreword xix
- Preface xxiv
- Policy analysis in Australia: context, themes and challenges 1
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The ‘policy advising’ context
- Policy professionals in context: advisors and ministers 23
- The economic context of policy analysis in Australia 37
- Policy analysis and public sector capacity 53
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Analysis and advice within government
- Policy analysis at the federal government level 71
- Policy and policy analysis in Australian states 87
- Policy analysis capacity and Australian local government 105
- Reflections on policy advice in Australia 121
-
Policy analysis beyond executive government
- Parliamentary committees and inquiries 137
- Expert policy advisory bodies 151
- Consultants, think tanks and public policy 167
- Media influence on public policy 183
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Parties and interest groups in policy analysis
- Policy development in political parties 201
- Business associations and policy analysis 217
- Policy and the labour movement 231
- Policy capacity in the community sector 245
-
Policy analysis instruction and research
- Policy analysis instruction in Australia 261
- Academic research and public policy 283
- Index 303
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Contents v
- List of tables and figures vii
- List of abbreviations viii
- Australian states and territories; Australian governments from 1972; and map of Australian states and territories xi
- Notes on contributors xiii
- Editors’ introduction to the series xvii
- Foreword xix
- Preface xxiv
- Policy analysis in Australia: context, themes and challenges 1
-
The ‘policy advising’ context
- Policy professionals in context: advisors and ministers 23
- The economic context of policy analysis in Australia 37
- Policy analysis and public sector capacity 53
-
Analysis and advice within government
- Policy analysis at the federal government level 71
- Policy and policy analysis in Australian states 87
- Policy analysis capacity and Australian local government 105
- Reflections on policy advice in Australia 121
-
Policy analysis beyond executive government
- Parliamentary committees and inquiries 137
- Expert policy advisory bodies 151
- Consultants, think tanks and public policy 167
- Media influence on public policy 183
-
Parties and interest groups in policy analysis
- Policy development in political parties 201
- Business associations and policy analysis 217
- Policy and the labour movement 231
- Policy capacity in the community sector 245
-
Policy analysis instruction and research
- Policy analysis instruction in Australia 261
- Academic research and public policy 283
- Index 303
