The Rise of Performance Governance in Australian Higher Education: Comparing the influences of performance measurement in HE

Monday, 19 October 2015
9am-1pm (concluding with a light lunch)
Multifunction Room, 1888 Building, University of Melbourne
This is an opportunity to discuss the outcomes of an important ARC Discovery Project called the Governing Performance Project: Performance Measurement in social and Public Policy.
Performance measurement in social and public policy is directly connected to enhancing government efficiency, quality, accountability and democracy. The use of performance data reshapes substantive policy domains, and the conduct of managers, administrators and agents of government-funded activities, which in turn impacts upon the opportunities and life-chances of citizens. Quantitative performance indicators make visible and emphasise particular practices and outcomes, while devaluing other administrative practices and social outcomes. By attaching benefits to these forms of calculation, public sector performance management actively seeks to reconfigure organizational, collective and individual practices and, in turn, the very substance being measured.
The seminar will bring together researchers and policy-shapers in higher education to discuss the impact of performance measurement and the dynamics that influence policy and outcomes in Australian Higher Education. Key findings from the ARC-DP Governing Performance project will be presented. The project examined the political and social dynamics of performance management in Australia through a comparative analysis of performance measurement across three policy domains: Schooling, Higher Education, and Primary Health Care. These domains are areas of considerable policy activity and public debate and are of course central to the lives of many people. There are important structural differences in these policy domains that enable greater insights from comparative analysis between these including interactions between State and Federal governments, organisations and professionals.
Presenters:
Associate Professor Paul Henman, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland
Professor Richard James, Melbourne Centre for the study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne
Professor Bob Lingard, School of Education, The University of Queensland
Dr Alison Gable, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland.
More information on our website  or please contact Dr Sylvia Schaffarczyk at sylvias@unimelb.edu.au or +61 3 8344 8664.

Register to attend

The Rise of Performance Governance in Australian Higher Education: Comparing the influences of performance measurement in Higher Education, Schooling and Primary Health Care