Funded Research
Imagining the Great Southern Land: Utopia, Dystopia and Science Fiction in Australia
Chief Investigator: Prof. Verity BurgmannThis project is a critical-historical appraisal of utopianism in Australian literature, architecture, politics and popular culture. It examines the ways Australia has been used as the setting, and sometimes as the inspiration, for imaginings of a significantly better or worse society. Utilizing a wide range of disciplinary approaches to analyse the specificity of Australian utopian traditions, it inquires how those traditions were shaped by, and in turn helped to shape, real political and social developments. In a society such as Australia, subject to more or less continuous and often rapid social change, the question of how to imagine the future is of paramount importance. One of the key themes in the research is the relationship between culture, ecology and utopia or dystopia; and it is quite deliberately oriented towards the future possibilities for an ecologically sustainable society.
Australian Research Council Discovery-Project Grant(joint with Monash University)
Reason in Revolt: The Role of Intellectuals in Australian Radicalism
Investigators: Prof. Verity Burgmann, Prof. Stuart Macintyre, Prof. Andrew Milner
The project aims to produce new ways of understanding and interpreting the role of intellectuals in the development of Australian political radicalism during the period 1872 to 2000. By digitizing a sizeable and representative data base of primary source materials produced by radical intellectuals, the Chief Investigators will be able to investigate these texts in innovative ways, producing a co-authored monograph and other research that will provide an improved understanding of Australia's past, present and possible futures. Secondary outcomes will include the establishment of a substantial on-line collection of radical political primary source material, with scholarly commentary and analysis, easily accessible to other researchers. The Reason in Revolt website can be found at www.reasoninrevolt.net.au.
Australian Research Council Discovery-Project Grant
The New Politics of Trade: Complexity, Innovation and Policy Development in the Asia Pacific Region
Chief Investigator: Prof. Ann Capling
In Australia and the Asia Pacific region the negotiation of bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements has become a central element of the foreign economic policies of many countries. The outcomes of the project will have particular relevance for Australia: understanding how our trade partners determine their trade agendas, and being able to identify potential allies and obstacles to the securing of bilateral trade agreements, is crucial for the successful negotiation and conclusion of trade agreements. This project will contribute to our understanding of how the processes of globalization are reconfiguring interactions between government, business and civil society both within and across national boundaries.
Australian Research Council Discovery-Project Grant
Australia and the European Union: A study of a changing trade and business relationship
Chief Investigators: Prof SH Bronitt; Mr D Kenyon; Dr PJ van der Eng; Prof FJ Ravenhill; Dr LE Botterill; Prof CC Findlay; Ms AM McNaughton; Mr HG Rammal; Prof A Capling
The project deepens understanding of the evolution of Australia‑EU bilateral relations, and the EU's significant contribution to the Australian economy. It informs public debate and official dialogues in Australia and Europe about the ways in which the relationship may be fostered in future. Project findings contribute an understanding of the common ground and mutual support of Australia and the EU in international organisations such as WTO, and the further development of Australian and EU policies that will benefit bilateral trade and investment in both Australia and the EU. The research results will inform Australian government agencies in identifying policy options for further constructive relationships between Australia and the EU.
Australian Research Council Linkage-Project Grant (Administering Organisation: The Australian National University)
Creating Collaborative Advantage Through Better Network Governance: A Comparative Study of New Institutions and Instruments
Chief Investigator: Prof. Mark Considine
By harnessing the embedded resources of different government and service delivery organisations operating at community level, and by removing costly boundary problems between them, governments can address the needs of citizens in a more wholistic and flexible manner. But to do this in a coherent way it is necessary to develop new institutional rules and organisational processes to allow agencies to collaborate without fear of reduced accountability or syphoning of public funds. The project will examine the structures and processes used in a selection of leading international cases in order to improve Australia's performance in gaining a collaborative advantage for citizens and agencies.
Australian Research Council Discovery-Project Grant
Activating States: transforming the delivery of 'welfare to work' services in Australia, the UK and the Netherlands
Investigators: Prof. Mark Considine , Assoc. Prof. Jenny Lewis, Dr Siobhan O'Sullivan
The frontline delivery of welfare-to-work services for the unemployed has changed significantly over the past ten years in response to structural and ideological pressures. Using benchmark data collected ten years ago, the Activating States project aims to analyse whether and how the activation of welfare clients has changed these services. This analysis will provide a means to assess the components of the new target and market-driven systems in Australia, UK and the Netherlands and to compare different tools for managing both clients and frontline staff.Australian Research Council Linkage-Project Grant
Regime Interplay: From Conflict to Integration in Overlapping International Regimes
Chief Investigator: Prof. Robyn Eckersley
This project develops an innovative theoretical framework for understanding and resolving conflict between international regimes covering different policy domains. It exposes the limitations of rational choice approaches and provides an alternative critical constructivist framework for evaluating the degree of convergence, relative influence and legitimacy of the core norms embedded in overlapping regimes, using the tensions between trade and environmental regimes as a case study. It also recommends substantive and procedural innovations that will enhance the mutual compatibility, legitimacy and effectiveness of regimes operating at cross-purposes.
Australian Research Council Discovery-Project Grant
The Politics of the Rights: Australian in Comparative
Investigators: Prof. Brian Galligan, Dr John Chesterman and Prof. Ted Morton
Australia tends to be left out of comparative rights studies, and accounts of rights protection tend to be focused upon courts and legal rights. There is no comparative study available that shows how well Australia protects rights, nor does there exist a detailed national study that shows how rights are protected in Australia by parliamentary means and the political mediation of international rights norms. This project will deliver both, enabling a fuller understanding of Australian rights protection. It will also boost comparative knowledge of rights protection via political means.
Australian Research Council Discovery-Project Grant
Resettling Visible Migrants & Refugees in Regional and Rural Victoria
Investigators: Prof Brian Galligan & Dr Millsom Henry-Waring
Resettling visible migrants and refugees in regional and rural Australia is integral to building sustainable communities. Their experiences in Victoria will be document and assessed by exploring their sense of identity and belonging; their emplohment patterns; the ways host communities respond and adapt; and the effectiveness of resettlement and other government policies at Commonwealth, state and local levels. In collaboration with key industry partners, the Municipal Association of Victoria and the Victorian Multicultural Commission, this project will provide new knowledge and practical policy benefits for the effective management of resettlment policies for visible migrants and refugees.
Australian Research Council Linkage-Project Grant
The Corruption-Organised Crime Nexus in Four European States, with Particular Reference to People
Chief Investigator: Prof. Leslie Holmes
Considering its importance to Australia, too little research is being done here on Europe. The EU alone accounts for c.40% of Australia's trade. Yet most research on Europe undertaken here is either historical (pre-1945) and/or of individual countries. Relatively little is in the social sciences. One benefit of this project is that it ensures that comparative social science research on Europe is conducted in Australia. Second, Australia experiences many problems facing European states, albeit usually on a smaller scale. The potential benefits of learning vicariously from others' experiences are obvious. Third, this will enhance this country's expertise in this strategically important area.
Australian Research Council Discovery-Project Grant
The EU and Asia: Influence and Consequences & New Horizons to EU-Asia Relations
Chief Investigator: Assoc. Prof. Philo Murray
This grant researches the impact of the European Union in East Asia. It examines the ways in which the EU is having an impact on policies, agendas and cultures in the countries of East Asia. There is a particular emphasis on the strategies and priorities being undertaken by the EU in relation to the region, as well as an examination of perceptions of the EU in the region and vice versa. The ways in which the EU acts as a model for integration, conflict resolution and multilateral cooperation are be key foci.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Higher Education Socrates-Eramus, Jean Monnet Action Lifelong Learning Programme
Europe and Asia in the 21st Century: Cooperation or Confrontation of Two Regional Hegemons?
Chief Investigator: Assoc. Prof. Philo Murray
This grant supports the curriculum design, research-teaching nexus and teaching of the new subject in the MIP entitled Europe and Asia: Competing Hegemons.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Higher Education Socrates-Eramus, Jean Monnet Action European integration activities in the field of higher education
The Implication of Welfare Reform For Single Parent Familes in their Transition to Paid Work
Chief Investigator: Prof. Paul Smyth
Welfare reform will require some single parents to engage in paid work. This may have social and health implications given the family responsibilities of single parents This study will identify and study the processes single parents experience when attempting to engage in paid work and the consequent changes to their economic circumstances, social wellbeing and health status. The findings of this study will have policy and practice implications. By closely examining the experiences of those affected, the study will help the organisations involved to better understand their needs and to modify the processes and practices of welfare reform accordingly.
Australian Research Council Discovery-Project Grant (joint with with Deakin University)
Academic Networks and Research Performance: A Comparison Across Disciplines and Countries
Chief Investigator: Assoc. Prof. Jenny Lewis
Contemporary research policy in Australia aims to encourage collaboration and ensure academic accountability through measuring and funding research performance. Yet little is known about how this impacts on collaboration and knowledge generation. In addition, while academic networks are essential for generating new knowledge, the link between them and research performance is unexplored. This project will combine network theory with policy analysis to build a framework that links academic networks to research outcomes. It will generate a major analytic and methodological improvement in our understanding of how best to promote high quality research, and contribute to the knowledge economy.
Australian Research Council Discovery Grant
Connecting for Health: The Role of Networks and Partnerships in Improving Health and Wellbeing
Chief Investigator: Assoc. Prof. Jenny Lewis
Networks and partnerships are emerging as the new ideal models of governance and service delivery around the world. In Victoria, there is now an emphasis on working in collaboration to improve service delivery and policy development, strengthen communities and ultimately, improve population health. However, there is little understanding of how these models of coordination and collaboration work and what they can achieve. Do they improve service delivery and health policy processes? Do they strengthen communities, generate social capital and so improve health? This research aims to answer these questions by focusing on networks and partnerships as key means for creating linkages and collaborations between policy, services and communities.
VicHealth / Department of Human Services Public Health Fellowship
Fostering Innovation Inside Government: The Role of Structural and Personal Networks in Improving Innovation Performance Among Politicians and Bureaucrats
Professorial Fellow: Prof. Mark Considine; Chief Investigator: Assoc. Prof. Jenny Lewis
Innovation is the engine of the new economy. The Prime Minister's Australia Day Statement 'Backing Australia's Ability' put innovation at the top of the government agenda. Unfortunately most research and public policy ignores the participation of government itself, apart from its fiscal role. This new study takes the innovation question inside government to map the path to innovation and to show how networking influences outcomes. The study considers both structural and personal networks and considers how they are connected. Outcomes will include a new model for governmental innovation and methods for performance improvement inside governmental systems
Australian Research Council Professorial Fellowship and Discovery-Project Grant
Connecting Government to Community: A Study of Social and Political Connectivity at the Municipal Level
Chief Investigators: Prof. Mark Considine, Assoc. Prof Jenny Lewis, Dr. Jo Barraket
Facilitating community strengthening by making public institutions more responsive to the needs of citizens is a central policy challenge in the global era. This project will advance theoretical, methodological and practical understandings of this issue by using comparative measures of personal ties and organizational connectedness in four municipalities to explicate the networks linking politicians, bureaucrats, civic leaders and ordinary citizens. The study will generate new measures of which kinds of connections count most, which ties bring more isolated groups closer to engagement, and which community strengthening strategies are likely to make improved governance outcomes feasible.
Australian Research Council Linkage Grant