The rationale for this project was to explore a novel approach to regional development in Australia, based on an approach developed by the European Union.

The United Kingdom’s industrial strategy focuses on high-tech, advanced industries. This paper argues that if the government really wants to improve productivity and address regional divides in the UK, it needs to stop ignoring ‘everyday’ sectors like social care. These sectors not only employ large...

While access to secure and affordable housing can mean the difference between poverty and a decent life in older age, full home-ownership in Australia is increasingly a privilege. This publication argues that unless society recalibrates some of the policy surrounding housing and aged care, gendered...

This report report makes the case for the need to create a community of practitioners invested in exploring and building the nascent field of public interest technology. Interviews with academics and practitioners identified that a key barrier to growing the field was a lack of...

Professor Lars Coenen delivered this year's annual MSSI Oration on Tuesday 20 November. As his research on innovative cities and regions in Europe and Australia shows, Coenen highlights that we urgently need to rethink what innovation is and how to go about it.

The data science boom shouldn’t be limited to business insights and profit margins. When used ethically, big data can help solve some of society’s most difficult social and environmental problems.

The VCOSS state election platform 2018 presents a vision for Victoria that has the attainment of ‘a good life’ at its core. VCOSS believes a good life should be central to the policy platform of every political party contesting the 2018 Victorian election.

The story of LEGO's brand resurgence, and others like it about open innovation, have important implications for implementation of strategy in the public sector.

In this annual overview of global government innovation, the OECD warns that the public sector will need a 'major course correction' to come to terms with the uncertainty posed by globalisation, rising inequality and disruptive technologies. The report argues that current government infrastructure is not...

The People-Led Innovation Methodology is premised on the idea that unlocking and applying the expertise of people requires city government decision-makers to design engagements with a focus on curation – ensuring that the problems, solutions, inputs, and approaches remain targeted and implementable rather than ill-defined...

Drawing on insights from the United States' experience, this paper assesses the cultural challenge of embracing failure constructively.

To produce evidence with ‘impact’, and know how to ‘make evidence count’, we need to understand the policy process and how evidence is produced and used in a complex system.

This report presents impacts of social enterprise in Victoria. The aims are to: 1. Identify, locate and characterise Victoria’s population of social enterprises and key intermediaries; and 2. Inform the Victorian Social Enterprise Strategy by valuing the social and economic impact of social enterprises.

This report looks globally for innovative approaches that can serve as a resource for policymakers to meet emerging challenges in a highly contested public policy landscape.

This paper describes the history and development of collective impact, with a focus on Australia, and includes two case studies to examine how collective impact is currently being practised in Australia.

This project examined state government-led innovations in affordable housing through analysis of two state-level strategies and two state-level programs.

Amidst all the enthusiasm for 'innovation,' there is only limited understanding of what makes governments innovative. What factors support public sector innovation?

In this document, opinion formers discuss concerns that are vital for the future success of the state’s economy, communities, public services and social cohesion. Contributors are focused on old and new problems, fresh ideas and approaches, and crucially, the use of evidence and expertise to...

The Regional Universities Network submission argues that when Government regional development investment is focused in an area with a regional university, the prospect for long term benefit is magnified.

This guide draws on a wealth of resources including the latest and seminal ideas on leadership. It is intended for emerging and established leaders across the social purpose ecosystem, from not-for-profits through social enterprises to socially responsible businesses.

Founded in London in 1997, the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) is one of the world's leading social enterprise development organisations. A charity that supports people using entrepreneurial approaches to tackle complex social problems, SSE has supported the development of over 2,000 enterprises in five...

This report presents findings from an analysis of the scale and scope of the sharing economy in Melbourne. The central aim of this report is to outline the breadth of the sharing economy in Melbourne, and to identify future directions for further investigation. The new...

Innovation is considered to be a sine qua non to improve efficiency and effectiveness in government and respond to citizens’ increasing demand for better services. This paper draws together literature related to innovation in the public sector. A qualitative analysis was conducted to establish the...

The Victorian Government's Social Enterprise Strategy, the first-of-its-kind in Australia, has been developed to improve and expand on existing support for the sector and to position Victoria to lead the country in driving employment participation and inclusive economic growth through social enterprise. Social enterprises already...

Social procurement – using business and government purchasing power to create social value – has tremendous potential for social impact. Procuring goods or services from social enterprises committed to employing and supporting marginalised groups, can create almost immediate change. However, social procurement is only an...