About the author Research Editor Maria Katsonis is The Mandarin's research editor and a Public Policy Fellow at the University of Melbourne. She previously worked in the Victorian Public Service as a senior executive. Follow Maria Katsonis
A field guide to spotting policy successes in the wild Monday September 16, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Research Series Like policy failures, policy successes are in the eye of the beholder. They are not mere facts but stories. To claim a public policy, program… Read more
Is there more to the VPS Jobs and Skills Exchange than meets the eye? Sunday September 8, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Features Victoria’s Special Minister of State and the Victorian Branch Secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union jointly announced the Jobs and Skills Exchange (JSE)… Read more
The challenge of policy coordination Monday September 2, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Research Series Policy coordination is an age old challenge for government. As the problems confronting governments have become more complex, effective coordination is even more critical. But… Read more
Why public servants need to be constant and deliberate learners to manage the challenge of change Friday August 30, 2019 By Maria Katsonis People & Capability Lauren Jackson is a Partner at KPMG working in leadership development with a focus on workforce transformation and reskilling at scale. Jackson talks to Maria… Read more
Does working in the public service mean a job for life or joining a club for life? Tuesday August 27, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Features The world of work is changing. Technology, flexibility and the way we think about careers are redefining the workplace. The public service is not immune… Read more
Reinventing how the public service works Tuesday August 20, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Research Series There is a pervasive sense that governments are not doing as well as they should to solve our biggest policy problems. This failure to meet… Read more
How to increase the relevance and use of social and behavioural science Monday August 5, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Research Series A post on the London School of Economics Impact Blog outlined why it is unrealistic for academic research to drive policy change. Yet social and… Read more
The twin faces of public sector design: policy design and design thinking Monday July 22, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Research Series Design thinking has become a popular approach for governments seeking to address complex governance challenges. It offers novel techniques and speaks to broader questions of… Read more
Putting value creation back into public value Monday July 8, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Research Series In conventional economics, the concept of value creation by the public sector is largely absent. Value is created in business with the state playing a… Read more
Does evidence still matter? What works now? Sunday June 23, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Research Series The idea of evidence based public policy has been fundamental to policy making since it first came to prominence over 20 years ago. Events around… Read more
Rethinking policy capacity, competencies and capabilities Monday June 10, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Research Series The increasing complexity of contemporary policy problems coupled with rising public expectations present unprecedented challenges to the capacity of governments to make and implement effective… Read more
Knowledge sharing between policy makers and academics Sunday May 26, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Research Series Policy makers are increasingly drawing on knowledge outside the public service to deal with the complexity of public policy. Academic research is one source of… Read more
What’s so wicked about wicked problems? Monday May 13, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Research Series The concept of wicked problems has become a fad in contemporary policy analysis with any number of problems being labelled as “wicked”. However if these… Read more
Why government agencies forget Friday April 26, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Research Series Organisational memory loss impacts negatively on the performance of government agencies. It can lead to weaknesses in policy, service delivery and the craft of the… Read more
Delivering local solutions should not be an afterthought Friday April 12, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Research Series Placing citizens at the centre of policymaking and service design means they have the opportunity to shape policy and services in areas that matter to… Read more
