Improving Public Administration

Cassandra Star is an Associate Professor of Public Policy in the College of Business, Government and Law. She lead the Climate and Sustainability Policy Research (CASPR) group. She is currently Research Theme Leader for Flinders Government. She has previously been Head of Department of Politics and Public Policy at Flinders University. She has an Honours degree from Griffith University and a PhD from Monash University.

Her research is concentrated on the interface between politics and the policy process and the subsequent impact of these dynamics on policy formulation. The ways in which stakeholders shape the climate policy agenda is the current focus of her work.

She is highly sought after to provide advice and professional development services to state and federal government agencies. She was the academic coordinator of the Public Sector Management Program for the Australian Public Service Commission from 2013-2015 and managed the team that delivered this $1.6m dollar project from Flinders University. She is a member of the Institute of Public Administration, South Australian division’s Strategic Advisory Committee.

She is an outstanding, internationally recognised innovative educator. She is the recipient of eight teaching awards across her career, including two prestigious Office of Learning and Teaching competitive National Citations for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning.

Cassandra provide significant leadership within political science nationally and internationally, including convening the Environmental Politics and Policy Standing Committee for the Australian Political Science Association.

Qualifications
- PhD Monash University
- Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching and Learning University of Southern Queensland
- Bachelor of Science (Australian Environmental Studies) Hons (I) Griffith University
- Bachelor of Science (Australian Environmental Studies) Griffith University

In 2015 Professor Adam Graycar joined the School of Social and Policy Studies at Flinders University. For five years before that he was Professor of Public Policy at the Australian National University and also Director of the Transnational Research Institute on Corruption (TRIC). He acquired extensive policy experience over 22 years in the senior level posts he has held in government, both Commonwealth and State, including Australia’s first Commissioner for the Ageing, and later Head, Cabinet Office, government of South Australia.

Dr Zeger van der Wal is Assistant Dean (Research) and Associate Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, based at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He currently serves as Associate Editor of Public Administration Review, one the premier journals in the field. Zeger has (co)authored over 75 publications, including books, journal articles, and op-ed pieces in magazines and newspapers. Top-tier journals which have published his work include International Public Management Journal, Public Administration Review, Public Administration, and Public Management Review. Zeger manages an active executive education and consulting portfolio. His areas of interest are: ethics, values, and good governance, performance management, and strategic HRM. Currently, he is working on a textbook geared towards MPA, MBA, and executive education classrooms, titled: “The 21st Century Public Manager”.

Barbara Dickens is a community engagement specialist who graduated with a Master of Public Administration (Management) from the Flinders University School of Social and Policy Studies in April 2013, gaining the Chancellor’s commendation. She had previously undertaken the Public Sector Management Program and won the IPAA High Achiever Award for the highest total marks in South Australia in 2008. For the past 11 years Barbara has been responsible for the development and delivery of engagement strategies for major South Australian Government urban renewal and infrastructure projects, working collaboratively with key internal and external stakeholders to build relationships and negotiate sustainable outcomes within a broader political and government policy context. She is currently the Manager, Engagement with Renewal SA, the Authority formed to provide a fully integrated approach to delivering an inspiring urban future for the State.

Jo Baulderstone’s career began in the Australian Public Sector was characterised by asking ‘why’ and occasionally ‘why not’? Seeking answers to these questions led to enrolment in the Master of Policy and Administration and morphing into an academic. With a primary interest in applied research, Jo’s academic career focussed on non-profit organisations’ intersection with government, with a particular interest in accountability and inter-agency collaboration. Her third career, as an ‘academic at large’, is proving to be the best yet.
Jo is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Flinders University and with the Australia New Zealand School of Government.

Philip Fagan-Schmidt was appointed to the position of Executive Director, Housing SA in 2009. He was holds the Degree of Master of Public Policy from Flinders University. He was awarded a Public Service Medal for his work in social housing policy and practice in 2015. Philip has worked in both academic and government spheres and in a range of areas including health, housing, natural resource management, infrastructure and major projects.