Australia Public Servants

I became strongly proficient in networking in healthcare government and industry forums and sought opportunities to participate and influence the healthcare public policy formulation process. To incentivise and provide a challenge for the best performing writers of my team, I researched specialised or topic specific policy formulation training and opportunities within the government to enhance our skillsets.

This paper is a review of chapter’s one (1), two (2) and three (3) in Thomas A. Birklands (2016) fourth edition regarding policy process. The reading attempts to define and show what is meant by policy process, how government, politics and the public are intertwined, problems that are associated with the policy process and how we address the problems. Current day events as well as past history are applied to the practice of policy process which assists in defining the process and highlighting its connection and importance. Thomas A. Birklands refers to the Clinton administration, the Obama administration and the George W. Bush administration, the DARE Program, World War II, and the Vietnam War, in the chapters and leads us down a path discussing

The management of an organization plays an integral part in determining the direction and performance of the organization. The manner in which the management of an organization is handled has a profound effect on the organization. The success of an organization is dependent upon a flexible and skilled management and workforce. The management of an organization is responsible for shaping up the organizational behavior and ultimately the culture within the organization. Public management faces a multiple of challenges and opportunities, how the management deals with these issues translates to efficiency in management. The personal judgments and skills of public managers can make a significant impact in public management. If

Noticing the difference between completing research in effort to inform policy and those who are in school to impact and create policy. P23

Commonwealth Government, Budget Paper No 3: Australia’s Federal Relations, 2009-10, 12 May 2009, p 7.

Based on this classification, Evans argues that apart from its formal headship, all of Australia’s institutions exercising public power are ‘modern republican’. His comment suggests that in addition to following Montesquieu’s doctrine of separation of powers, which seeks to divide the power of the government into three separate institutions, the Australian system also distributes power through a system of checks and balances. However, unlike the American Constitution of 1787, which, as table 1 and figure 3 demonstrates, divides the judicial, the legislative, and the executive into three relatively separate institutions that are “confined to the exercise of its own function”, Australia’s system of “rule from above” has led to what a former Vice

- Can evidence based research from other countries with similar histories to Australia be used to help design and improve policies in

Agency research has many characteristics in common with social science research such as using systematic and rigorous methods, seeking empirical evidence, being committed to neutrality, thinking critically, and abiding by an ethical code. However, besides being concern with the practice needs of an agency, agency research is distinguished from social science research in two other ways. It is more concern with accountability especially to a specific set of stakeholders, and political processes are important to its success, (pg. 286).

Kernaghan, K. 2000. The Post-Bureaucratic Organization and Public Services Values. Interational Review of Administrative Sciences 66. 2000, pp. 92-93.

After earning his PhD in public policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Craig Boardman directed in-depth governmental research and policy analysis for several large federal organizations as a staff member with Washington DC’s Institute for Defense Analyses/Science and Technology Policy Institute. Drawing upon his policy expertise, he has authored a number of books, book chapters, monographs, technical reports, and peer-reviewed articles. His work has appeared in scholarly journals such as the Public Administration Review and Issues in Science and Technology. Craig Boardman has also served as an editor and a reviewer in several specialized capacities.

A published Carnegie Trust report asserts ‘public policy outcomes could be improved if academics and the third sector were to work more closely together’. The report quotes Professor Mark Schucksmith OBE, who states that universities and the third sector have shared interests and could greatly benefit from working together. Two models were developed by the Carnegie Trust to facilitate improving this interaction, and they provided nineteen recommendations, including ‘resourcing the provision of gateways through which third sector organisations, businesses and other publics can make contact with researchers in universities’. Shucksmith also posits that there are barriers, such as academic research not being readily accessible, but hopefully, with continued engagement, there will be improved collaborative effort.

Governmental policies and politics play a critical role in the realization of change in a public agency since the policies are developed and implemented at various levels (Dukeshire & Thurlow, 2002). Since these policies may range from formal regulations and legislation to informal guidelines in an agency, understanding them is important in the achievement of change in a public agency. A Public agency basically functions based on the established policies and politics in the government. Therefore, the accomplishment of the change in a public agency requires an increased understanding of the politics and policies of government.

This has been in my thoughts as I’ve been drafting my way into my own dissertation ideas. My background in critical social studies means I am very familiar with building arguments, so some of this uncertainty is expected. AT the moment, I know enough to say I am on the right track with my research ideas and know that public administration, and public policy in particular, is the right field for me.. However, I also feel rather critical of the policy process literature. It has been claimed, “public administration exists to realize the governance of society” (Raadschelders, 1999, p. 288). Yet, what society believes policy to be, and for whom, changes over time and across place. I feel at this moment public policy in the United States will change dramatically and I worry that our field is ill equipped to deal with these changing views of policy. Consequently, most of my underlying thoughts and reflections have been on understanding how can we adapt to this changing atmosphere.

Majority of public sectors are managed under a bigger chain of command and control, while private sectors mostly operate in a corporate setting. As for the differences with their policy decisions, the activities in the public sector have a goal of adhering to what is indicated by law, while the private sector is driven by the rules of shareholders and corporate owners. Schmidt (2008) states, “The research agenda of companies is more focused and targeted and therefore perceived as easier to handle for managers. Also, the decision-making process is different. Managers of private enterprises can faster and easier change orientation, focus and targets. This implies, according to some managers, that the instrumentation used in the private sector is different from the one used within public research.”

Today’s managers have a growing need to understand scientific findings and incorporate them into decision making. Research always facilitates effective management. At many government organizations research drives every aspect of major decision making. In some organizations, research is so fundamental that management makes hardly any significant decision without the benefit of some kind of research.