New research instruments for government: measuring community engagement

Abstract

Australian contemporary public administration is characterised by the re-emergence of community as a useful category across a range of policy-making and service delivery areas. The background to this introduction of social factors to balance the market oriented instruments of the New Public Management (NPM) has been the subject of considerable commentary (Smyth et al., 2005; Vinson, 2004; Considine, 2004). Less attention has been paid to the actual instruments needed to make community a practical part of policy making and public management. This chapter outlines progress to date in Victoria in establishing what could become a national measurement framework for engaging communities.