BSL Lunchtime Seminars

March 2006

Social policy as investment
Thursday 2 March 12:00-1:00

Reconfiguring social policy as investment is a core theme of Brotherhood research. Using materials from his book co-edited with Alison McClelland, Australian Social Policy Understanding for Action (OUP release in April 2006)

Paul Smyth will overview relevant historical, comparative and theoretical developments which position the concept of ‘social investment’ as the next big thing on Australian social policy. The seminar will discuss implications for future social policy research. Paul Smyth is Professor of Social Policy at the University of Melbourne and General Manager of Social Action and Research at BSL.

Evaluating community arts
Thursday 9 March 12:00-1:00

Janet Stanley, Senior Manager of Research and Policy at BSL, is currently involved in an evaluation of three community arts projects with partners the University of Melbourne and the Victorian College of the Arts funded by VicHealth. Janet will draw on this experience to discuss community arts evaluation and the issues it raises.

Talking policy: on trust and truth in policy
Thursday 16 March 12:00-1:00

Ours is a time when governments and related policy-making communities talk up the value of 'evidence-based' policy. While this works to confirm the long standing affinity with the social sciences and credentials 'objectivity', the claims about evidenced based policy are misleading and inaccurate. Policy is politics by other means. Claims about evidence-based policy reminds us uncomfortably that the perrennial problems of political discourse framed as questions like who is truthful and who can you trust do not go away. The seminar will attempt to clarify what is at stake.

Rob Watts is Professor of Social Policy at RMIT University in the School of Global Studies Social Science and Planning. He has most recently co-authored books Discovering Risk (2004), Violations of Trust (2005) and Talking Policy (2006) co-authored with Judith Bessant, Paul Smyth and Tony Dalton and a third edition of Sociology Australia. He is finishing - at last - a major study of state sponsored crimes of violence and starting two new books, one on Australia's universities, and the other looking at the pocesses of disposession of the Aboriginal people.

Education and lifelong learning
Thursday 23 March, 12:00-1:00

Rob Simons, National Manager of Strategic Research and Social Policy at The Smith Family, will disscuss The Smith Family's current research towards the development of its education / lifelong learning strategy for prevention of intergenerational disadvantage. The four key priorities for the development of the strategy are literacy (comprehension, ICT financial), mentoring, the early years, and Indigenous communities.

The presentation will highlight work with the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling in developing indexes of regional capacity and need, work with the Australian Council for Educational Research on year twelve retention and the school to work transition, evaluations of pilots in the areas of financial literacy and mentoring streams and in relation to the Swan Nyungar Sports Education Program.

Details:
Seminars are presented by BSL's Social Action & Research unit and are normally on Thursdays 12:00-1:00 and are at BSL's head office at 67 Brunswick St, Fitzroy. If you would like to attend a seminar please RSVP to jkleidon@bsl.org.au.

BSL research events events are also posted at http://www.bsl.org.au/main.asp?PageId=133.

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