Crawford academics’ success in ARC funding
The Crawford School of Public Policy, part of the ANU College of Law, Governance and Policy (CLGP), has had incredible success in the latest round of ARC funding, with five academics benefiting from funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC).
Crawford Professor Robert Breunig received $656,000 in funding for his topical work Better childcare policy: parental labour supply and provider responses. The project will focus on how childcare policy is fundamental for women’s workforce participation, gender equity and productivity. Using new, linked administrative data, this project aims to provide novel insights on how childcare policy shapes the availability and utilisation of childcare services in Australia, as well as their effects on parental labour market outcomes. The project intends to propel Australia to the global frontier of research on childcare policy, generating findings that will inform policymakers in establishing childcare subsidy rates that effectively boost workforce engagement and productivity. Ultimately, the project can help narrow the gender pay gap, thus enhancing the wellbeing of Australian families, and foster a more equitable society.
“All of us at the Crawford School of Public Policy congratulate Professor Breunig on his grant success. The funding will support truly world-leading research that will shape public policy for the years ahead,” Professor Janine O’Flynn, Director of Crawford said.
“Bob is famous for his research, which has important policy relevance and impact for Australia. His recent contributions use new administrative datasets, and he aims to inform policymakers in setting childcare subsidy rates that effectively boost workforce engagement and productivity, helping narrow the gender pay gap and fostering a more equitable society,” remarked Distinguished Professor Fry-McKibbin, Associate Dean of Research at CLGP.
Emeritus Professor Quentin Grafton, Professor Long Chu and Dr Paul Wyrwoll are part of a team led by Flinders University in South Australia that received $642,045 in funding for a Linkage Project about water security in the Murray-Darling Basin. Known as the driest inhabited continent on Earth, Australia faces ongoing water security issues, particularly within the Murray-Darling Basin. Water challenges can be too much, too little, or too dirty, invoking the need for robust but highly adaptable policy. In partnership with key local and national end-users, this project aims to advance understanding of freshwater security issues via state-of-the-art economic research to develop novel tools that significantly advance water demand/supply planning and implementation by government and stakeholders. This new capability will enhance collaboration between policymakers who will be better positioned to deliver against contemporary water challenges, and meet water security for all.
Professor Janine O’Flynn said, “This project builds on their impressive water research over many years and will build important relationships with end users to drive better policy outcomes for all.”
Dr Peter Varela is also part of a team that received an ARC Discovery Grant. The project, led by the University of Queensland, received $428,214. It aims to establish the consequences of prolonged temporary migration on a range of economic, demographic and social integration outcomes and to determine the impact of transient and temporary populations on sense of belonging and community engagement. By using novel administrative microdata linked to visa status, the project seeks to identify visa pathways to permanent residence and citizenship and compare their impact on integration outcomes in Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and Sweden. The results are expected to advance migration theory and to provide a critically needed foundation for forward-looking evidence-based migration policy, with expected benefits at both the national and regional levels. Dr Peter Varela is vital to this research as he will be doing the novel microdata analysis with the Australian data.
Distinguished Professor Fry-McKibbin added, “I would like to gratefully acknowledge the support of the CLGP and CAP (College of Asia Pacific) research services offices in making these applications successful.”
Congratulations to all the recipients! We are looking forward to seeing the outcomes of your work.
CTA: For more information on the ARC funding, visit the Australian Research Council website.