Centre for Public Value UWA
About the Centre
The Centre for Public Value UWA is an independent research centre situated in the UWA Business School. The establishment of this centre is motivated by the opportunity for making a real and substantial contribution to Australian and regional communities through robust examinations of Australia’s social policy landscape and, in particular, the effectiveness and sustainability of the human service sector.
Aims and Objectives
The aims of the centre are to institutionalise research outcomes by formalising the work already underway by the Not-for-profits UWA Research Group and to increase outputs and impact by increasing research and engagement activities. To achieve this, the centre will pursue the following objectives:
- Create a theme of research focused on the systemic evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of the Australasian human services sector.
- Incorporate current activities, and develop additional activities, into the theme of research focused on achieving systemic governance, accountability and transparency.
- Incorporate current activities, and develop additional activities, into the theme of research focused on establishing necessary high quality data assets and linking extant data assets to facilitate the development of high-quality research outcomes and to encourage HDR students to pursue studies in this area within the UWA Business School.
- Incorporate current activities, and develop additional activities, into the theme of research focused on the economics of the Australasian human services sector.
The Centre's Research Programs
- Australian Nonprofit Accountability
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Nonprofit organisations play a vital role in Australian society, but ensuring their accountability and transparency is essential to maintaining public trust. This research project seeks to grapple with the current state of nonprofit accountability in Australia, through the mechanisms of legal requirements, governance, regulatory interactions, and stakeholder expectations.
- Australian Disability Services System
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The Australian Disability Services System comprises an assortment programs and priorities that service the those people with disability in the Australian community. The National Disability Insurance Scheme is an example of just one of these programs which constitute the disability services system in Australia. This project seeks to examine the system both as a whole and in its components to tease out the issues that are hindering the proper coverage in services, ease of access and the overall outcomes of Australians with disability.
- Economics of Human Services
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Human services providers face an increasingly pressurised operating environment with challenges, such as increased demand for services, more complex needs of recipients, inadequate funding and challenges in maturing service costs and regulatory burden. For providers to be able to service the community effectively and equitably, sustainability requirements must be understood and supported. This theme examines the funding and operational challenges that hinder human service organisational sustainability while positioning the sectors contribution and interactions with market economics in its proper societal context.
- History of Human Services and the Welfare State
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Ideas surrounding welfare and the welfare state have become disassociated with their historical motivations. The pejorative nature of the surrounding discourse has meant that discussion about the value of the infrastructure that underpins human services is poorly understood and grossly underutilised. This theme will investigate the development of the Australian welfare state to reconcile contemporary challenges with the emergence of the welfare infrastructure and its trajectory in the Australian context. Key topics within this theme include the history of the welfare state and human services, as well as the evolution of economic and welfarist thought. Provides political and economic theoretical grounds in which the study human services, the government/nonprofit nexus and the broader institutional welfare infrastructure can be examined.
- Australian Nonprofit Accounting Standards Research Program
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This program, supported by the Institute of Community Directors and being undertaken by a group of Australian universities led by Not-for-profits UWA, is focused on supporting the development of efficient and effective accounting standards for nonprofit and charitable organisations.
For more information on the program, its research aims and contribution please visit the program's webpage.
- Public Sector Accountability and Governance
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This project aims to examine the effectiveness of public sector accountability mechanisms and governance structures in the public sector. Key themes include the role of transparency, access and participation, and stakeholder engagement in promoting accountability and good governance, as well as the impact of political and institutional factors on accountability processes. The program seeks to contribute to the development of evidence-based policy recommendations and practical tools for improving public sector accountability and governance.
- Resources to Support Nonprofits
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In alignment with the Centre’s mission to provide practice-ready resources, this project aims to deliver financial and organisational tools and materials to support nonprofit organisations further sustainable and effective operation, particularly in the human services.
Members and associates
Director
Centre for Public Value Research Team
- Dr Prerana Agrawal
- Sumayyah Ahmad
- Dr Lyndie Bayne
- Grace Brooks
- Dr Abhijit Das
- Thomas Emery
- Clare Feenan
- Hailee Katsamakis
- Dr Frank Liu
- Ben Perks
- Xavier Reader
- Han Wen
- Dr Warrick Van Zyl
UWA Associates
Research Students
Associated Scholars
- Dr Helen Adam, Edith Cowan University
- Professor Satish Chand, University of New South Wales / ADFA
- Dr Vien Chu, Newcastle University
- Dr Dane Etheridge, Curtin Business School
- Dr Craig Furneaux, Australian Centre for Philanthropic and Nonprofit Studies, QUT
- Dr Ushi Ghoorah, University of Western Sydney
- Dr Sarah Jefferson, Edith Cowan University
- Professor Christine Jubb, Swinburne University
- Professor Nuno Garoupa, George Mason University
- Dr Mark Shying, Swinburne University (former AASB)
- Dr Rok Spruk, Ljubljana University
- Dr Andrew West, Queensland University of Technology
- Dr Yitang Yang, University of New South Wales
- Dr Yuyu Zhang, Queensland University of Technology
UWA Adjunct Personnel
- Adj Prof Susan Pascoe AM (former ACNC Commissioner. Currently: Vatican Commissioner on Church Governance; Co-chair, Victorian Government Taskforce on Social Services Regulation; Chair ACFID)
- Adj Prof Robert Fitzgerald (former member Australian Productivity Commission; former Royal Commissioner, Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse; currently: NSW Ageing and Disability Commissioner)
UWA Honorary Research Fellows
- Mr Andrew Pickford (former CEO, Mannkal foundation; currently: Strategic Advisor & External Affairs, Atlas Iron)
- Mr Craig Fisher (former Chairman, RSM New Zealand Group; currently: Member NZ Auditing and Assurance Standards Board)
Links to Related Research Centres and Institutes
- Centre for Social Impact UWA
- UWA Public Policy Institute
- Not-for-profits UWA Law
- Not-for-profits UWA
Publications and resources
Browse our Publications |
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Resources
The Centre for Public Value strives to provide practical and accessible resources to directors, CEOs, management and other key stakeholders to best position them to contribute value with efficiency and confidence.
The Economics of the Human Services series provides stakeholders with accessible, concise and topical insights into important economic concepts and practices that shape the human services sector. The first paper of the series looks at the indexation and its relationship with costs of services and funding.
Each paper in the series can be accessed below with more being added in due course on a range of topics.
- Economic Paper 1: What is Indexation?
- Economic Paper 2: Why the CPI and WPI are not Appropriate Bases for Human Services Funding Indexation
- Economic Paper 3: Markets and Human Services
- Economic Paper 4: Job Quality Threats to Human Services Sustainability
Check out our YouTube channel for more videos offering bitesize practical insights.
ANZTSR 15th Biennial Australian and New Zealand Third Sector Research Conference
Achievements and Challenges in Creating Public Good
Thank you to all who attended this year's conference. It was fantastic to be able to share and discuss the valuable work being conducted on and within the third sector.
Recordings of the ANZTSR Conference Sessions can be accessed via the Centre's YouTube Channel
PhD Opportunities
Academics associated with the research network are available for supervising topics related to public value as well as its relevant intercepts. Please visit here for more information about applying.
Contact us
Phone
David Gilchrist