Dr. Lisa Conway wins the Australian Political Studies Association's 2024 PhD Thesis Prize

Congratulations to Crawford School scholar Dr. Lisa Conway for winning the Australian Political Studies Association's 2024 PhD Thesis Prize for her thesis 'Public Administration in Blak and White: Uplifting Cultural Capability in the Australian Public Service’.

Her thesis was described by one of her thesis examiners, Professor Yin Paradies, as “a powerful, insightful, challenging and thought-provoking foray into the machinations of public bureaucracy conducted with acumen, authenticity, poise and a profoundly ethical approach that embodies the essence of reflexivity, humility, honesty and vulnerability promoted in this research; while being unflinchingly grounded in Blak and Mob knowledge, positionality, perspectives, values, methodology, communication styles and lived experience. The many facets of institutional whiteness are cogently conveyed alongside clear and compelling recommendations (bundles of possibilities) for improving Australian Public Service (APS) cultural capabilities”.

Lisa competed her award-winning thesis as an ANU The Sir Roland Wilson Foundation Pat Turner Scholar from 2020 to 2023. Her thesis explores how the APS needs to address institutional whiteness to build its cultural capability as both an employer and as a public administration that designs and delivers policy that impacts the outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Her primary thesis supervisor was Professor Ariadne Vromen, who says it has been a "great privilege to support the development of Lisa’s research and thinking.”

“I have learnt so much from Lisa that has fundamentally changed my world view and shaped my overt commitment to being a better ally for Indigenous self-determination and equal futures. Lisa’s future is so bright, but luckily she always brings people with her so we can bask in the glow”, says Ariadne.

Lisa is a proud Yorta Yorta woman and 18-year veteran of the APS. She is currently Chair of the APS Indigenous Senior Executive Service (SES) Network and Assistant Secretary of the First Nations Employment Policy and Programs Branch of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

Well done Lisa for your amazing achievement!