Workshops
Wednesday 3rd November, 2010
Friday 5th November, 2010

The Commonwealth Government’s Blueprint for Reform recommends that public servants build stronger relationships with academics and researchers. The question now facing public servants is: How do we do this most effectively?

Drawing on their experience in the government and academic / research sectors, Dr Wendy Jarvie and Dr Trish Mercer will explore what public servants can do to ensure effective working relationships and partnerships with researchers, as well as the effective translation of research into policy; particularly for complex issues. They will cover:

• Managing expectations in terms of outputs and impacts
• Understanding and managing the risks
• Looking to the long term and investing in building research capacity and partnerships
• Investing in in-house capability
• Supporting the development of external capability in the academic world
• Lessons from the DEEWR experience and elsewhere in the public service

Expert Facilitators:

Dr. Wendy Jarvie
School of Business
Australian Defence Force Academy
Former Deputy Secretary
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Wendy has spent twenty two years working in Australian Public Service departments, seven of which were as a Deputy Secretary in the Departments of Education, Science and Training and Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. She has worked in research including three years at the World Bank as well as at the University of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley Research Foundation.

Dr. Trish Mercer
Former Manager for Research, Analysis and Evaluation
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Trish has had over twenty years experience as an SES officer. Most recently she was Group Manager for research, analysis and evaluation at the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and its predecessor the Department of Education, Science and Training. In addition to this Dr Mercer was a Director on the Board of the Australian Council for Educational Research.

The Australian Government has emphasised the need to embed evidence into policy formulation. This workshop is designed to help equip policy makers, policy influencers and researchers with the tools to engage effectively, in order to apply research and practical experience to complex policy challenges. The workshop will comprise of presentations, discussion and the opportunity to work on practical examples of using evidence in policy development. It will cover:

• The various types of evidence that are used in policy development
• The definitions and characteristics of knowledge translation (KT)
• Current models of KT
• The barriers and facilitators to the use of research in policy decision-making,
• Examples of effective initiatives for KT between policy and research
• Strategies for effective interaction between research and policy worlds

Expert Facilitators:

Dr. Rhian Parker
Associate Professor and Senior Research and Policy Synthesis Fellow
Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute

Rhian is a sociologist by training and joined APHCRI after many years of teaching and researching in the area of primary health care. Rhian’s role at APHCRI involves engaging with researchers, policy makers and practitioners to support the use of research evidence in policy development and in primary care practice.

Dr. Will Wright
Media and Communications Consultant
Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute

Will works closely with primary health care researchers in the APHCRI network to promote the adoption of research evidence into policy and practice. Will previously worked as a journalist for Fairfax Community Network in Melbourne, where he was the health reporter for eight magazines, including The Melbourne Times and Melbourne Weekly Magazine.