Rights exist behind the wire
In 2004 the ACT Legislative Assembly enacted the Human Rights Act, the first Bill of Rights to be passed into law in Australia. In essence the Act provides that no one may be treated or...
SHARE
Introduction
Emeritus Professor Meredith Edwards AMCitizen Engagement, Public and corporate governance, Policy development processes, Research-policy relationships
Role
Academic Fellow
Department
ANZSOG Institute for Governance
Organisation
University of Canberra
Background
Meredith Edwards is Emeritus Professor at the University of Canberra. She is an economist who has been a lecturer, researcher, policy analyst and administrator through her career. From 1983 to 1997, she advised on some major social policy, education and labour market issues in the Commonwealth Public Service, including in the role of Deputy Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet from 1993. She served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra from 1997 to 2002, and set up the National Institute for Governance in 1999, of which she was Director until 2004. In 2001, Meredith published a book Social Policy, Public Policy: From Problem to Practice based on case studies she was involved in during her career in the Commonwealth Public Service. Meredith was a member of the Wran Committee on Higher Education Funding (1988-1989) and a member of the Australian Statistics Advisory Council (1988-90 and 1994-2001). She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA), and was President of the Economic Society of Australia and New Zealand (ACT Branch) from 1994-1996. Meredith chaired a review of the research program of ANZSOG in 2007. She has recently been appointed to the United National Committee of Experts on Public Administration for four years from 2010.
ANZSIG InsightEdwards M. & Evans, M., (2011), Getting Evidence into Policy-makingThis article examines the case for getting more evidence into policy-making. It begins by evaluating the national and international contexts that have given rise to the latest renaissance in thinking on evidence and policy. It then draws on contributions to the ANZSIG Parliamentary Triangle Seminar and companion papers, to identify four critical obstacles to the achievement of evidence-based policy making in government. The article outlines a range of strategies for getting evidence into policy. It concludes by arguing that in most part evidence-based policy-making remains demand-led, and that developing and embedding a culture of 'strategic commissioning of evidence' at the level of political and permanent leadership is the fastest way of getting evidence into policy-making and achieving more strategic government. Here the SES has a particularly important role to play in championing evidence-based policy-making and forging strong working relationships with knowledge institutions through action learning processes which can help mitigate risk in public sector innovation, facilitate solutions to public policy problems and incubate ideas to support future decision-making.
Research PaperEdwards, M., (2008), Participatory Governance, Corporate Governance ARC Project, (University of Canberra), 6, pp. document attach
Research PaperEdwards, M., (2006), Appointments to Public Sector Boards in Australia: A Comparative Assessment, Corporate Governance ARC Project, (University of Canberra), 3, pp. document attach
JournalEdwards, M., (2005), Social Science Research and Public Policy: Narrowing the Divide, Australian Journal of Public Administration, 6, pp. 68-74
Research PaperEdwards, M. & Clough, R, (2005), Corporate Governance and Performance: An Exploration of the Connection in a Public Sector Context , Corporate Governance ARC Project, (University of Canberra), 1This paper is part of a major project - Corporate Governance in the Public Sector: An evaluation of its Tensions, Gaps and Potential. The project will provide the first comprehensive theoretical and empirical work on corporate governance in the Commonwealth public sector. It has been designed to enhance communication and participation in governance across government, industry, and the community by improving corporate governance literacy and making information publicly available.
The project is a collaborative venture between three University of Canberra research centres and key governmental and industry partners including the Australian National Audit Office, the Australian Government Department of Finance and Administration, Deloitte, Touche, Tohmatsu, CPA Australia and MinterEllison Lawyers.
NewspaperEdwards, M., (2005), A Big Shift in Decision-Making, The Public Sector Informant, 12
BookEdwards, M., Howard, C. & Miller, R., (2001), Social Policy, Public Policy: From Problem to Practice, (Allen & Unwin)For the first time, a key insider explains how government policies are created and implemented in Australia.