Developing Political Nous

Dr Rob Manwaring is a senior lecturer in the College of Business, Law and Government. Rob's background is in public policy, and worked for the UK's Commission for Racial Equality as a senior policy adviser, and also for the South Australian Council of Social Services. Since completing his PhD at Flinders in 2010, he teaches a range of policy and politics topics, and researches into the areas of centre-left political parties, democratic politics, and public policy. Most recently, his edited collection (with Paul Kennedy from the University of Bath) 'Why the Left Loses' (Policy Press) examined the electoral fortunes of the family of centre-left political parties and the ongoing crisis of social democracy.

Tim's professional life started as a political staffer, culminating in his appointment as chief-of-staff to Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs. This was followed by 15 years in commercial roles in the petroleum sector. He then worked for another 15 years in four different roles in the South Australian Government public service. The last two of these roles were as CEO of the Department of Transport and Urban Development and as Commissioner for Renewable Energy. Tim has been teaching in university public policy schools for the past 12 years.