Australian Non-government Organisations Research Articles

Blending logics with performance management systems in an NGO setting

PurposeThis study aims to examine the role of performance management systems (PMSs) in enabling logic blending to manage institutional complexity and tensions arising from coexisting institutional logics.Design/methodology/approachThis research uses a case study of an Australian non-government organisation (NGO) operating in an institutional field dominated by the state government, in which policy reform jolted the balance between institutional logics. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, archival documents and observations.FindingsWe find the policy reform required the NGO to transform from a wholly care focus to accommodate a more balanced approach with a focus on care coupled with efficiency, outcome delivery and performance measurement. The NGO responded by revising its purpose, strategy and operational model and by seeking to address the imperatives of two dominant and often competing care and managerial logics. We find this was achieved through logic blending, in which PMSs played a pivotal role, with the formalisation and collaboration processes mobilising different elements of PMSs, mobilising some elements differently or not mobilising some elements at all.Originality/valueThis study highlights the central role of PMSs in managing tensions between and the complexity arising from coexisting institutional logics through logic blending, a form of enduring compromise. This study extends the accounting logics and performance management literature by developing the understanding of what constitutes logic blending and how it is distinct from other forms of compromise.

Outcomes of an individual placement and support programme incorporating principles of the collaborative recovery model.

Engaging in employment enhances mental health recovery and is therefore of central focus for many occupational therapists working in mental health. Individual placement and support (IPS) is an evidence-based, supported employment model specifically designed for individuals with severe mental illness who have the desire to work. Despite strong support for IPS in Australia, implementation challenges have been encountered. This study evaluates outcomes achieved by participants engaged with WorkWell, an IPS programme delivered by a large Australian non-government organisation. In addition to following IPS principles, WorkWell was informed by principles of the collaborative recovery model (CRM). De-identified outcomes data for each participant were analysed by an independent research team. The proportion of individuals engaged with the programme who achieved a competitive employment placement was calculated. Average employment duration and weekly wages were calculated for individuals who achieved a competitive employment placement. Finally, the proportion of individuals who achieved some form of vocationally relevant outcome was calculated. Ninety-seven participants were engaged with the programme. Forty-eight participants (49.5%) gained a competitive employment position. Average employment duration was 151days (21.6weeks) and average weekly wage was $478. Overall, 62 participants (63.9%) were supported to achieve some kind of vocationally relevant outcome (e.g. competitive employment, education, work trial or voluntary work) as a result of their engagement with the programme. While the addition of CRM principles appears to have supported positive outcomes for participants, especially in terms of employment duration, results for employment placement rates were lower than expected. While the employment placement rate compares favourably to results from the international literature and numerous programmes in Australia, more development is required to increase the proportion of individuals who are supported into competitive employment positions. Future research should focus on the specific elements of CRM that most contribute to enhancing IPS processes.

Social Assistance Payments and Food Insecurity inAustralia: Evidence from the HouseholdExpenditure Survey.

It is widely understood that households with low economic resources and poor labour market attachment are at considerable risk of food insecurity in Australia. However, little is known about variations in food insecurity by receipt of specific classes of social assistance payments that are made through the social security system. Using newly released data from the 2016 Household Expenditure Survey, this paper reports on variations in food insecurity prevalence across a range of payment types. We further investigated measures of financial wellbeing reported by food-insecure households in receipt of social assistance payments. Results showed that individuals in receipt of Newstart allowance (11%), Austudy/Abstudy (14%), the Disability Support Pension (12%), the Carer Payment (11%) and the Parenting Payment (9%) were at significantly higher risk of food insecurity compared to those in receipt of the Age Pension (<1%) or no payment at all (1.3%). Results further indicated that food-insecure households in receipt of social assistance payments endured significant financial stress, with a large proportion co-currently experiencing “fuel” or “energy” poverty. Our results support calls by a range of Australian non-government organisations, politicians, and academics for a comprehensive review of the Australian social security system.

Outcome measurement in Australian non-government organisations: a descriptive study of recovery-based mental health workers’ experiences and beliefs

ABSTRACTObjective: This study aimed to explore and gain an understanding of Australian non-government mental health staff experiences of outcome measurement. The project sought to learn if non-clinical staff share key issues raised by clinical staff, what challenges are faced using outcome measurement in non-government settings, and how outcome measurement benefits practice.Method: Individuals were recruited between 2016 and 2017 from recovery-oriented non-government organisations using outcome measurement practices. Utilising a phenomenological perspective, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 12 participants. Service characteristics, recovery, and experiences of outcome measurement processes, feasibility, and tool properties were explored.Results: Initial data provided context of employing organisations, the practicing philosophies, and outcome tools used by participants. Four thematic areas were identified from the analysis of participant transcripts, (i) the mixed views and beliefs about outcome measurement, (ii) the standing of tool validity, (iii) wide use of flexible practices and (iv) the value and importance of training and support.Discussion: This non-comparative study found that non-clinical mental health staff shared some feasibility issues with clinical staff, however, they also presented new issues and new ways of using outcome measurement tools. Future research should continue to document non-government organisation staff experiences of outcome measurement to improve practice and culture.

Ethics and Evaluative Consultations with Children in Small to Mid-Sized Australian Non-Government Organisations

The value of listening to children's voices is well acknowledged. The vast body of literature surrounding this topic discusses children's voices in pedagogy, theory, methodology, and through empirical research. While some of this literature has focused on ethical considerations surrounding evaluative consultations with children in applied practice settings, there is a shortage of literature specifically relevant to small and medium-sized nongovernment organisations (NGOs). These organisations typically conduct consultations on a smaller scale and with fewer resources than their larger counterparts. This paper refers to Australian ethical guidelines using a practice example from a mid-sized NGO to examine ethics in child consultation from a practice-based program improvement perspective. The paper examines whether consultations with children always require formal ethics approval and discusses terminology and considerations surrounding ethical decision making processes.

The Sanctuary Model, Creating Safety for an Out-of-home Care Community

The adoption of the Sanctuary Model within Churches of Christ Care Pathways, an Australian non-government organisation in the child protection sector, has influenced a fundamental attitudinal shift towards enhanced wellbeing for clients, employees and carers alike. By drawing on the four pillars of Sanctuary, which incorporate theoretical and practical strategies, a safe environment can be created to heal trauma on an individual, organisational and community level, with the view towards a future of growth, change and resilience. The four pillars; Theory, SELF (Safety, Emotion Management, Loss and Future), the Seven Commitments and the Tools, support healing from trauma, and bring about organisational change. Examples from Pathways Residential Care and Fostering Services are used to illustrate the way in which the Sanctuary Model has enhanced safety within this out-of-home care community.

Lean on me: the potential for peer support in a non-government Australian mental health service

This paper examines the challenges and opportunities for integrating peer support in mental health. After reviewing the contemporary literature, it considers how the findings of a recent qualitative case study, which examined the perspectives of mental health service users (n = 11) on service-user participation and evidence-based practice, might inform the introduction of a peer support program into a mental health service provided by a large Australian non-government organisation. While there is little empirical evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of peer support, the study revealed that service users valued the expertise of their peers and offered guidance for translating evidence into service models.

Voices from the Front Line: Social Work with Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Australia and the UK

Front line social work in non-government organisations (NGOs) providing services for refugees and asylum seekers is demanding and challenging. Increasing numbers of social workers work with newly arrived communities; however, there are few studies that examine the demands and issues they face. Asylum seekers and refugees face restricted access and limited entitlement to health and social care. This article draws on evidence from a qualitative study conducted in 2006–11 that analysed the narratives of thirty front line workers to identify the challenges faced in delivering effective services and support. It was found that immigration policy in Australia and the UK placed pressure on social workers working with those who are subject to tight state controls and who experience poverty and destitution. In most NGOs in the UK, there is no supervision or structural support for front line social workers, whereas Australian NGOs are informed by a culture of supervision. This article highlights the demands social workers face in their work and recommends improved conditions in NGOs, and targeted social work education, training and research.

Using health rights to improve programme design: a Papua New Guinea case study

The non-state sector is becoming increasingly influential in funding and implementing global health programmes. However, their disease-specific focus and vertical interventions have led to criticism that these programmes can be unsustainable and unable to achieve long-term goals. This paper demonstrates that health rights can inform programme design to guide the design of appropriate and sustainable aid-funded health programmes. It draws on UN General Comment 14, which clarified the right to health duties of states and their international partners, and which determined that 'core obligations' in health must become progressively available, accessible, acceptable and of good quality. A rights-based tool assessed the design of activities proposed for Papua New Guinea by a consortium of Australian non-government organisations. The tool revealed that none of the 36 indicators was addressed in full. Five of the 12 indicators pertaining to availability were addressed partially, as were three of 10 relating to accessibility and one of six concerning human rights concepts. As shown by the case study, failure to address the indicators in this tool will result in simplistic programme designs that can win political or financial support, but will fail to respect health rights or deliver a quality health service, available, accessible and acceptable to all.

What policies and policy processes are needed to ensure that people with psychiatric disabilities have access to appropriate housing?

This paper uses data from a South Australian case study of a period of mental health reform (2000-2005) to answer the question of how different policy networks set agenda and implement policy to ensure that people with psychiatric disabilities have access to appropriate housing. Qualitative methods were used, including interviews (n = 31) and focus groups (n = 8) with non-government organisations (NGOs), consumers and carers and professionals from health, disability and housing sectors, and participant observation with South Australian NGOs (n = 52). These data were supported by a thematic analysis of national and State (i.e. South Australian) policies in mental health and housing sectors. The research indicated that, despite a number of 'inter-sectoral projects' and regional networks, the health and housing sectors were essentially separate policy systems with little integration. It also concluded that the absence of strategic integration across sectors leads to inadequate housing for people with a psychiatric disability. Research participants considered the need for better collaboration secondary to the need for additional housing and support resources and political commitment to such resources. A number of barriers and enablers to policy agenda setting and collaboration were identified. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy and policy processes which will support housing outcomes for people with psychiatric disability.

Room for climate advocates in a coal‐focused economy? NGO influence on Australian climate policy

Many Australian environmental non‐government organisations (NGOs) have campaigned for greater political action and community awareness on human‐induced climate change for almost two decades. Australian emissions are the highest per person in the world, yet the Government's response is heavily influenced by the economically‐significant fossil fuel industry. NGO campaigners are sceptical of their campaigns' effectiveness. This paper presents three methods for evaluating the effectiveness of NGO climate change campaigns: Moyer's Movement Action Plan, Schumaker's Assessment of Political Effectiveness, and a document analysis of the influence of NGO submissions to climate policy processes. Evaluation is critical for NGO campaigns to improve their effectiveness, and evaluation criteria and methods should ideally be designed in parallel with the campaign strategy. Using these evaluation methods, it is evident that Australian NGO campaigns on climate change have been effective.

Community-Level Approaches in Language Planning: The Case of Hungarian in Australia

This paper provides an example of micro-planning which involves community, government and non-government organisations both in the context of immigrants’ source and host countries. The community in question is the Hungarian diaspora in Australia. The language planning activities are aimed at maintaining an immigrant heritage language and identity. The paper first gives a theoretical discussion on the definition of language policy and planning, with specific focus on micro-planning, then describes the Hungarian linguistic minorities in the Carpathian basin and in Australia. Then, the paper presents the micro-level language planning activities initiated by the Hungarian non-government organisations in Australia with specific focus on the interaction between Australian non-government organisations, Hungary-based non-government organisations and with government bodies in Hungary and Australia. The paper argues that micro-planning is initiated in the community, but can only be interpreted within the wider scope of macro-level planning. The paper also argues that micro-planning initiatives are essential complementary elements of language planning: neither macro- nor micro level planning is sufficient on its own.

Non-government organisations and the dialectics of state and civil society

This paper is concerned with envisioning the development of non-government organisations (NGOs) in Australia over the next 200 years. It begins with a discussion of a hypothetical NGO, providing vignettes of its activities in 2104 and 2204, and sketching out contextual factors that might influence NGO development. This discussion is followed by an outline of the methodology upon which the projections indicated in the hypothetical case-study are based. Three methodological approaches are used. The first approach begins from an analysis of current contextual trajectories, and projects the role of NGOs within these trajectories. The second approach postulates that the changes that will occur will be affected by the reflexive nature of social change, involving continual reflection and action. The third methodological approach draws on this notion of reflexivity, but emphasises that social change is not only a reflexive process, it is also a dialectical one. The dialectical approach rests on the premise that change occurs through a process of the accumulation of contradictions, challenge and resolution. Using these methodological approaches the paper proceeds to identify three factors which will influence the Australian NGO sector in the next 200 years. These factors are the shifting relations between the state and civil society, including the rise of the neo-authoritarian state in the 21st century; the ways in which least advantaged people are dealt with and, finally, the idea of risk society. While it is more difficult to identify the contextual and NGO trajectories into the 22nd and 23rd centuries, the paper postulates a more utopian vision for NGOs in Australia in 200 years time, where the category of people who had been previously marginalised disappears, and the major roles of NGOs are to ensure cultural diversity and develop civil labour.

Disaster simulation exercises for Australian non‐government organizations

DisastersVolume 9, Issue 3 p. 185-186 Disaster simulation exercises for Australian non-government organizations R.F. Morison, R.F. Morison AODRO 2nd Floor 381 Pitt Street Sydney, NSW 2000 AustraliaSearch for more papers by this author R.F. Morison, R.F. Morison AODRO 2nd Floor 381 Pitt Street Sydney, NSW 2000 AustraliaSearch for more papers by this author First published: September 1985 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7717.1985.tb00937.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume9, Issue3September 1985Pages 185-186 RelatedInformation