Crisis preparedness in government departments in Australia

A survey of Australian government communicators (n = 45) at a 2008 conference on crisis preparedness and management has shown that more than 80% of departments had a crisis management plan and that 90% of these plans were tested at least once a year. Almost 70% of those surveyed were ‘very confident’ or ‘somewhat confident’ in their crisis management plans, even though 44% felt that the level of senior management support for crisis planning was not sufficient. The research supported previous US research (Cloudman & Hallahan, 2006) that showed that the level of crisis preparedness (measured by the presence of crisis management and business continuity plans, frequency of drills based on the plans, the level of incorporation of disaster into the plans, frequency of plan review and confidence with crisis management planning) was related to the size of the organisation and the size of its communication function. The size of the organization also seemed to be a predictor of confidence in crisis planning and preparedness, with 13 of the 19 (68.4%) respondents that reported that they were ‘very confident’ or ‘somewhat confident’ in their crisis preparations coming from organizations larger than 500 employees

Ambiguity and ambivalence: organizational change in government departments

The way in which workers and managers interpret change at work has been an important focus of interest for researchers. This interpretation may find them assimilating change as they listen to accounts from other workers experienced in the outcomes of such events. On the other hand, there may be a divergence among workers concerning the value and meaning to be ascribed to the change events. If this is the case, a culture of ambiguity may be said to exist, where the nature, degree and value of the cultural change are highly contested and remarkably unclear (McLoughlin et al;., 2005). Following Piderit (2000), this paper suggests this may explain the disparity between an individual’s expectancy of change and their response to it, and also that, individuals’ ambivalence may influence whether they accept change, adapt to it, or reject it out-of-hand, . We show how different dimensions of ambivalence in different individuals can lead not only to different responses to imposed change at work, but can also account for individuals coming to terms with the demands of change

Indigenous affairs: a quick guide to key internet links

Provides links to key resources for Indigenous affairs in Australia, including information on \u27Closing the Gap\u27 agreements, funding, geography, and government agencies. Summary This Quick Guide provides links to: the Council of Australian Government (COAG) key agreements under ‘Closing the Gap’ a listing of Australian Government departments with responsibility for Indigenous affairs and their key programmes statistics and funding a map of ‘Aboriginal Australia’ directories of Indigenous organisations and businesses key organisations outside Government departments state, territory and local government websites and overseas websites

The 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review: a challenging spending review?

In advance of the publication of the CSR, this briefing note examines what we already know about the CSR settlement, what remains to be announced and what this might imply for government departments and public services

CORE Organic Country Report Austria

In Austria research activities in the area of organic food and farming are mainly financed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (BMLFUW). To some extent research activities are funded in cooperation with other regional government departments (“Bund-Bundesländer Kooperation”), the City of Vienna, stakeholder organisations or in cooperation with private funders

Crown Copyright: An Overview for Government Departments

The purpose of this guidance is to provide government departments with a general overview on how Crown copyright is managed. It covers the following: What is Crown copyright? Copyright ownership, re-use of Crown copyright information, and copyright and publishing

Critical Perspectives Sustainability of the on South African Civil Society Sector

This report presents the findings of a research and advocacy process that included consultative workshops with CSOs in all nine of South Africa's provinces, interviews with CSOs, politicians, government departments, the NLB, NDA and local funders. The report highlights the successes and ongoing problems associated with the NLB and the NDA. It locates them within a broader context of government unevenness, inefficiency and corruption

Industrial policy for the medium to long-term

This report reviews the market failure and systems failure rationales for industrial policy and assesses the evidence on part experience of industrial policy in the UK. In the light of this, it reviews options for reshaping the design and delivery of industrial policy towards UK manufacturing. These options are intended to encourage a medium- to long-term perspective across government departments and to integrate science, innovation and industrial policy