84,496 research outputs found

    Vocational Education and Training Workforce

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    This Productivity Commission research report was released on 5 May 2011. This report, the first of a suite of three on the education and training workforce, focusses on the Vocational Education and Training workforce. Other reports will follow on the Early Childhood Development and Schools workforces, respectively. Education and training are essential to generate the skills and knowledge required for a productive economy. They also facilitate social inclusion and civic participation. COAG’s reform agenda seeks to raise the educational attainment of the population in general, and of Indigenous Australians in particular. The performance of the education and training workforce has a fundamental role to play in this. A diverse range of public and private VET providers meets many of the expectations of students and significant segments of industry. However, some industry sectors, such as aged care, disability care and early childhood development, have expressed concerns about the skills of VET workers assessed as competent by some Registered Training Organisations. The Commission identified a number of areas where the VET sector and its workforce could operate more effectively. These include being more responsive to the needs of Indigenous Australians, improving managerial and leadership skills and making greater use of informationand communications technologies. The report notes that existing industrial relations arrangements in TAFE make it difficult for individual institutions to respond flexibly to emerging demand pressures, such as in the resources sector and in human services. The Commission recommends that individual TAFEs be allowed to recruit, pay and manage their staff in ways that meet their particular business goals.vocational education and training; VET workforce; vocational workforce; vocational education; training workforce; human capital; workforce planning; workforce capability; workforce skills; coag framework; dual professional

    Planning, implementation and effectiveness in Indigenous health reform

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    The Planning, Implementation and Effectiveness in Indigenous Health Reform (PIE) project, funded by the Lowitja Institute and the Australian Research Council, carried out by the University of Melbourne, arose from concerns by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that despite the importance of participation and investment in collaborative governance, little research focused on capturing current practice and identifying best practice is being done. The advent of the National Indigenous Reform Agreement (NIRA) and the Indigenous Health National Partnership Agreements (IHNPAs) has led to further development/application of collaborative approaches to governance through committees and forums at national, State and regional levels. The activities associated with these committees and forums are referred to throughout this report as collaborative governance. This report focuses on building the evidence base around best practice based on case studies of collaborative governance in relation to the NIRA. A policy brief highlighting the policy recommendations of this report is also available

    Developing a culture of evaluation and research

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    Increasingly, organisations are expected to demonstrate, and document, the differences their services are making for children, families and communities (McCoy, Rose, & Connolly, 2013; 2014). Evaluation and research helps to respond to this demand. Evidence gained through these activities helps to identify whether programs have achieved what was intended and enables organisations to be transparent and accountable. To develop effective evaluation and research functions, organisations needs a strong culture of evaluation and research; a culture in which evidence is deliberately sought in order to better implement and deliver programs. Without such a culture any efforts to build effective evaluation and research activities will be undermined (Mayne, 2010). This paper is a guide to developing a culture of evaluation and research. It reviews what an evaluation and research culture is, and explores the actions that can be taken to develop and sustain a culture of evaluation and research

    Groups and communities at risk of domestic and family violence: a review and evaluation of domestic and family violence prevention and early intervention services focusing on at-risk groups and communities

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    A review and evaluation of domestic and family violence prevention and early intervention services focusing on at-risk groups and communities. Summary This report sets out the findings of research into domestic and family violence (DFV) prevention initiatives focused on groups and communities identified as being at greater risk of experiencing DFV and/or having difficulty accessing support services. These groups include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, women from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities (CALD), people who identify as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual, Intersex and Queer (GLBTIQ), young women and women in regional, rural and remote (non-urban) communitie

    Forging partnerships in health care: Process and measuring benefits

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    Universally, there is concern that much academic learning has dealt mainly in theory, removing knowledge from context with a resultant lack of practical experience. Here, the catalyst for strengthening university-community engagement, emanated from a desire to foster greater propensity within students to make connections between their academic courses and responsibility toward the community and people in need, and thus develop enhanced skills in social interaction, teamwork and effectiveness. This paper explores a variety of models of university-community engagement that aim to achieve and model good practice in policy making and planning around healthcare education and service development. Ways of integrating teaching and learning with community engagement, so there is reciprocal learning with significant benefits to the community, students, the university and industry are described. The communities of engagement for a transdisciplinary approach in healthcare are defined and the types of collaborative partnerships are outlined, including public/private partnerships, service learning approaches and regional campus engagement. The processes for initiating innovation in this field, forging sustainable partnerships, providing cooperative leadership and building shared vision are detailed. Measuring shared and sustained benefits for all participants is examined in the context of effecting changes in working relationships as well as the impact on students in terms of increased personal and social responsibility, confidence and competence. For the health professions, it is considered vital to adopt this approach in order to deliver graduates who feel aware of community needs, believe they can make a difference, and have a greater sense of community responsibility, ethic of service and more sophisticated understandings of social contexts. In the longer term, it is proposed the strategy will deliver a future healthcare workforce that is more likely to have a strengthened sense of community, social and personal responsibility and thus effect positive social change

    Evaluation of the Victorian Community Crime Prevention Program: final report

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    This evaluation finds that the Community Crime Prevention Program is a highly valued contribution to the Victorian community crime prevention and community safety field. Abstract The Community Crime Prevention Program (CCPP), established by the Victorian Government, aims to enhance communities’ capacity to deliver local solutions to crime. It is part of a broader suite of initiatives to reduce the impact of criminal behaviour on Victorians. The Community Crime Prevention Unit (CCPU) is a business unit within the Department of Justice (DOJ) to administer the CCPP. The mainstay of the CCPP is a competitive grants program available to a wide variety of community organisations and local government authorities. Bodies that comply with the qualifying criteria are able to apply for funding in the allocated funding rounds. DOJ commissioned the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) to conduct an evaluation of the Victorian CCPP. In order to assess the strategic appropriateness and efficacy of the CCPP the AIC, in consultation with the CCPU and the Regional Directors forum that operates across the DOJ, developed a program logic model and evaluation framework. This informed the development of a comprehensive methodology combining qualitative and quantitative research methods. This included: consultation with key stakeholders; online survey of local government and community organisations; review of CCPP-sponsored interventions; and analysis of administrative data and program documentation relating to the operation of the CCPP. The project was undertaken between February and September 2014

    Third sector accounting and accountability in Australia: anything but a level playing field

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    This research report seeks to understand why some Australian not-for-profit organisations make voluntary financial disclosures beyond their basic statutory obligations. Introduction This paper surveys previous work on voluntary information disclosures in accounting reports of Australian Not-for-Profit organisations (NFPs). This is new research and is a part of a project to evolve a comprehensive explanation of why Australian NFPs disclose what they do disclose; and to capture and explain patterns of variations between NFPs between what they regard to disclose and the type of information they disclose. To accomplish this, first some background information about the NFP sector are considered. Then, the Australian NFP sector is reviewed. Third, the information needs of some key stakeholders are briefly discussed. Next, the research methodology where a literature survey which looks at not just disclosures to NFPs but to the commercial sector that are plausibly &nbsp

    A research and evaluation capacity building model in Western Australia

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    Evaluation of public health programs, services and policies is increasingly required to demonstrate effectiveness. Funding constraints necessitate that existing programs, services and policies be evaluated and their findings disseminated. Evidence-informed practice and policy is also desirable to maximise investments in public health. Partnerships between public health researchers, service providers and policymakers can help address evaluation knowledge and skills gaps. The Western Australian Sexual Health and Blood-borne Virus Applied Research and Evaluation Network (SiREN) aims to build research and evaluation capacity in the sexual health and blood-borne virus sector in Western Australia (WA). Partners’ perspectives of the SiREN model after 2 years were explored. Qualitative written responses from service providers, policymakers and researchers about the SiREN model were analysed thematically. Service providers reported that participation in SiREN prompted them to consider evaluation earlier in the planning process and increased their appreciation of the value of evaluation. Policymakers noted benefits of the model in generating local evidence and highlighting local issues of importance for consideration at a national level. Researchers identified challenges communicating the services available through SiREN and the time investment needed to develop effective collaborative partnerships. Stronger engagement between public health researchers, service providers and policymakers through collaborative partnerships has the potential to improve evidence generation and evidence translation. These outcomes require long-term funding and commitment from all partners to develop and maintain partnerships. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation can ensure the partnership remains responsive to the needs of key stakeholders. The findings are applicable to many sectors

    Research for better aid: an evaluation of DFAT’s investments

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    Assesses the degree to which the investment by the Australian aid program into research has been appropriate, effective and efficient, and provides recommendations for improving DFAT’s future management of research investment. Foreword Explores how research investment can be best managed to ensure DFAT supports aid innovation and high-quality aid program and policy decision-making. The evaluation focuses on whether the management of DFAT’s considerable development research investment has been appropriate, effective and efficient. Employing a multi-dimensional evaluation method, it draws on the experiences of DFAT staff and stakeholders, as well as the available expenditure data, in arriving at a set of well-supported findings and recommendations. The report makes several important points about the need for DFAT to have a clear sense about why and how it funds research. The department’s managers and officers need especially to be conscious of the effectiveness and efficiency risks implicit in their highly devolved form of research investment management. These risks will be reduced if robust knowledge management systems and a strong culture of research use are embedded in the department. The experience of other aid donors indicates that achieving this will be a significant challenge. The evaluation also makes a finding with clear implications for the way the department engages with research institutions in partner countries. It shows that, while the department’s research funding to Australian institutions increased significantly from 2005 to 2013, the level of direct funding to partner country institutions did not increase to the same extent and was, indeed, flat over the last five years of that period. There are clear benefits to be had in building research capacity in those institutions, either directly or through partnerships with Australian and international researchers. Given Australia’s ongoing investment in the Pacific, this may be a region in which future research funding can be focused.   &nbsp
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