Dr Patricia Mercer

Dr Patricia  Mercer

Position: Visiting Fellow
School and/or Centres: Australia and New Zealand School of Government

Email: trish.mercer@anu.edu.au

During my term as a Visiting Fellow, I am working on a number of research projects drawing on my previous experience as a senior executive in the federal bureaucracy, particularly in regard to early childhood education and schooling policy. These have included a case and teaching note for the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) Case Program Library on universal preschool and a chapter on the school literacy reforms of David Kemp (1996-2001) in the ANU publication New Accountabilities, New Challenges. I have also participated in a symposium chaired by Professors Alan Fenna and Linda Botterill on the impact of parties on policy in Australia, and am finalising an article with Visiting Professor Wendy Jarvie on the impact of parties on early childhood education and care policy in Australia since the 1970s.  I have co-authored with an ANU colleague (Dr Katherine Daniell) the Conclusion to an edited book which will be published shortly on the concept of 'multi-level governance' and its relevance to Australian public policy practice, for which I have also contributed a case study. My current project involves a research paper for ANZSOG on the development and current state of play of instruction in public policy for public service practitioners, focussed on how busy public servants learn and apply models and concepts of policy development in Australia. I am also drawing on my applied research to deliver a range of public policy workshops for the Crawford School of Executive Education at ANU.

Updated:  3 March 2023/Responsible Officer:  Head of School/Page Contact:  CASS Marketing & Communications