Economic downturns have pronounced impacts on young people. Using data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY), this report examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education, employment and social circumstances of young Australians.

The content of this plan is primarily driven by direct consultation with children and young people. In this way, the Advocate for Children and Young People is not relying on what they assume children and young people need and want, but speaking to them directly...

This paper provides a summary of COVID-19 and wellbeing data from the January 2022 ANUpoll, the tenth poll in the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods COVID-19 Impact Monitoring Survey program.

This document provides an overview of the current state of knowledge concerning nature-based solutions for enhancing social and environmental outcomes.

While there is such a thing as society, it doesn’t happen by accident. Increasingly, the state needs to take a leading role in building and shaping it – we need a 'gravitational state' that pulls people together into a society. This paper is the last...

The document overs the crucial role of executive functions in helping us live well and contribute to wider society.

This resource explains the Community Services Outcomes Tree, which has been designed for the community sector.

This document explores ‘what does it mean to thrive?' for people with a lived experience of financial hardship.

If the COVID-19 crisis and social protection crisis response to date are to make a difference to progress towards inclusive, adaptive and sustainable social protection moving forward, harnessing the momentum around social protection and institutionalising learning to date are key. This paper aims to contribute...

This report measures Australia’s performance against a set of 56 indicators linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report builds on targets and measures of progress that the independent National Sustainable Development Council developed in 2018.

Using the State of Victoria as a case study, this paper demonstrates that linking employment policy objectives to public procurement has considerable potential, provided certain conditions are met.

This report presents findings and recommendations from the Specialist Homelessness Sector (SHS) Outcomes Consultation Project, led by the Council to Homeless Persons in 2019. The project involved wide-ranging consultation with people who are or have been without a home, frontline staff and managers of SHS...

Like all modern societies, Australia has to understand, interpret and learn from its history. In this paper, Peter Kurti argues that we must be sure to protect our country, our communities and our citizens from the three dangers posed by cancel culture — the corrosion...

This study uses data from the contemporary longitudinal Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) study to increase our understanding of self-control development in the first five years of life. The GUiNZ study follows the development of around 6,800 children born in 2009 and 2010. Children...

What are the common things that go wrong when setting up an outcomes measurement approach? SVA consultants share 10 years of insights.

This FACSIAR Evidence to Action Note supports us to understand how to involve clients in outcomes-based commissioning, and the impact this has on client outcomes.

In this article, Susie King, SVA Consulting Director, reflects on a panel conversation she facilitated with senior leaders during a session at IPAA Victoria’s Public Sector Week 2019 on navigating transformation and disruption in the public and social sectors.

This report provides important insights into Māori attitudes toward the justice system and ideas on how to improve justice outcomes.

Te Whānau O Waipareira is working with SVA Consulting to build an outcomes management culture and strategy to measure what really matters for Māori families in West Auckland.

This report extends our previous Bankwest Foundation research and investigates the experiences of on-the-ground community organisations, government and philanthropic funders of community service organisations, and community sector peak bodies with outcomes measurement in Western Australia.

The social impact bond (SIB) innovation is gathering pace around the world and here in Australia, but it is still very early in the development of this nascent market.

The Centre for Sport and Social Impact (CSSI) at La Trobe University was commissioned by AFL Victoria to determine the social value of a 'typical' community football club; specifically its social, health and community impact.

This strategy outlines 12 initiatives to address four areas: international student wellbeing, quality of international education, consumer protection and availability of better information for international students.

Given the conspicuous and wide-ranging effects emanating from planning, this paper takes as its starting point the proposition that all planning, not least that directed at Australian cities, must address and resolve the issue of legitimacy in terms of what justifies its decision making and...

This paper examines pathways through which parental characteristics might affect children's cognitive and behavioural outcomes. Using the 2004 LSAC, the author shows that more educated and mentally healthier parents are likely to have children with better outcomes. While educated parents are more frequently engaged in...