An investigation into capability, planning and management shortfalls in Commonwealth entities entering into external information technology (IT) contracts. The report finds such shortfalls lead to poor results as well as poor value for money for the taxpayer, and makes three recommendations to improve and build capacity for future IT procurement.

This national survey provides insight into public attitudes towards the role, value and funding of essential services. It finds a significant increase in the proportion of people unhappy with the tax system, with two-thirds responding that it either fails to reduce or actually increases inequality.

Responding to changing political preferences is a democratic imperative. Better-resourced bureaucracies should be more able to comply with new political directions, irrespective of their willingness to do so. This paper examines how bureaucratic capacity affects responsiveness, finding that spare organisational capacity significantly increases the likelihood of bureaucracies consenting to program changes and more expeditious implementation.

For government to break out of the loop of demand for public services and innovate, it needs to find a way to prioritise prevention over day-to-day expenditure. This paper looks at how to shift the culture of public organisations to think ‘prevention first’ and target spending at activities which promise value for money and improve...

The toolkit offers practical guidance for government officials and evaluators seeking to improve their evaluation capacities and systems, by enabling a deeper understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and learning from OECD member country experiences and trends. It supports the practical implementation of the principles contained in the 2022 OECD recommendation on public policy evaluation.