Dr Megan Alessandrini, University of Tasmania
Date: Wednesday 27th June 2012
Time: 12.30pm
Venue: Murray Building (Building 58), Room 4121
Tea/coffee and sandwiches will be available.
This seminar paper reports on recent research on sub-national strategic planning in four Australian states/ territories. While some states have taken a participative approach, consulting exhaustively, others have adopted a corporate style, consulting selectively and hence developing a highly politicised planning product. Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory have each approached the task differently (Alessandrini, 2010). Consequently the extent of participation and civic engagement, particularly through the conduit of third sector organisations, has varied considerably. Tasmania Together, the Tasmanian 20 year strategic plan, is the oldest of the four and is currently approaching its tenth birthday. As participants in the Tasmania Together process, third sector organisations have engaged in partnership agreements with government to develop and implement strategies, as well as assisting the Tasmania Together Progress Board to assess progress towards agreed benchmarks. This independent approach in which the Progress Board is legislatively separated from the government of the day, has come at a cost. Where political will is waning, it falls to the third sector and the community at large to maintain the momentum. The models adopted in the other states differ and are at an earlier stage. Nevertheless it is clear the role of the third sector is vital. The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) is putting pressure on government service delivery responsibilities throughout the world.
This paper provides a comparative analysis of the participative policy-making approaches utilized in USA and Australia, and their impact examining the development of social capital and civic engagement. The role of third sector organisations is explored in this context, particularly the potential for tension arising from conflicting roles of advocacy and government funded service provision. It is proposed that a high level of social capital in a community will predispose to effective civic engagement and participation. This in turn is more likely to result in cohesive and appropriate policy. A grassroots community benchmarking project in Tasmania -Tasmania Together- has the potential to encourage and facilitate community engagement and active participation such as social entrepreneurship. How effective has this strategy been when compared with strategic planning projects driven by government? Tasmania Together since its inception has been globally recognised as innovative and unique in its process and outcomes because of its inherent bottom-up structure. The third sector has a vital role to play in such a strategy as organizers and coordinators of expressions of dissent and concern, and as advocates for emerging policy preferences. A comparison of planning in Oregon, Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Northern Territory illustrates the various styles adopted in engaging citizens in their particular contexts, and the impact this can have.
Megan Alessandrini has been actively researching in the non-profit sector since 1998, and has undertaken research on the Australian Red Cross Blood Service; drug diversion implementation policy; evaluations of program delivery in the non-profit sector; and typologies of non-profit organisations and a market orientation scale. Her most recent published work is ‘The Role of the Third Sector in Subnational Strategic Planning’, Australian and New Zealand Third Sector Review, 17 (1) pp. 59-73. ISSN 1323-9163 (2011).
For further information please see:
http://www.utas.edu.au/government/people/Megan-Alessandrini