In this post, Gemma Carey, Helen Dickinson, Michael Fletcher and Daniel Reeders examine the role of National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) actuaries, describing their purpose in the scheme, the limitations in the ways they are used and the implications.
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The Cashless Debit Card Symposium was held at both the University of Melbourne and the Alfred Deakin Institute on Thursday, the 1st of February 2018. The Power to Persuade is running a series of blogs drawn from the presentations made on the day. In this piece, Susan Tilley of Uniting Communities shares the findings of a discourse analysis of the ORIMA evaluations of the Cashless Debit Card Trials (CDCT), reporting that the evaluations are deeply imbued with government ideology.
Read MoreIf your job involved poring over the best and the worst of government, you’d probably pick up a few things. Here, ANZSOG’s Marinella Padula harnesses 13 years of public sector case writing experience to identify the top lessons for program leadership, design and evaluation.
Read MoreWe love evidence at Power to Persuade, and advocate for evidence-based approaches. But there are times when the definition of “evidence” can detract from effectiveness. In today’s post, Lanie Stockman, Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand’s Outcomes and Evaluation Specialist, argues for ensuring evidence collection remain manageable and respectful of programs and their clients.
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A lack of economic analysis expertise in the Australian public sector is costing the country, writes economist Dr Leo Dobes in the wake of his recent cost-benefit analysis research. Government resources are finite, and decisions must constantly be made about where to direct resources so that they will most benefit the whole community. But these are complicated decisions to make - how can we genuinely move toward evidence-based public policy if we don't have the in-house capacity to rigorously analyse policy proposals? Relying on consultants has its risks.
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