Sir Roland Wilson Foundation

Sharon is Principal Behavioural Scientist and Director of the Behavioural Science Unit at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

For nearly a decade, Sharon has played a leadership role in promoting the use of behavioural science to put people at the centre of public policy.

Despite a range of inclusion initiatives, APS employees who identify as living with disability have lower rates of promotion at all levels, even when controlling for experience and education. Research is needed to better understand barriers to promotion and the under-representation of this cohort in leadership positions. Sharon’s research will employ a unique behavioural science and mixed methods approach to examine barriers and enablers, and develop an evidence-based behavioural intervention that can be applied across the APS to help crack the promotion ceiling and improve career equity for workers living with disability.

Since starting as a graduate at Comcare in 2011, Holly’s work experience has spanned corporate and enabling functions, specialising in strategy formulation, governance and evaluation frameworks, and non-financial performance measurement design. Prior to commencing as a Sir Roland Wilson Scholar, she was the Director Governance, Planning and Performance at the Department of Finance.

Holly’s PhD research program examines the drivers of meaningful Australian Public Service (APS) non-financial performance reporting, and how the service may move from reporting for regulatory compliance to commitment to regulatory intent. Holly’s research explores the roles regulatory accountability tools play in shaping APS perceptions of accountability requirements’ value, cultures, and entity responses. Holly’s research aims to mitigate unintended consequences of accountability reforms and harness positive drivers to support the APS’ desire to achieve the highest standards of integrity and performance.

Aaron is an economist with over a decade of experience in economic policy and applied research roles across Treasury, the Productivity Commission and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. His most recent role was as a Director leading a team of economists and data analysts conducting research on the infrastructure portfolio’s key strategic priorities. Aaron has experience across a wide range of public policy topics, including indirect tax, productivity measurement, veterans’ affairs, foreign investment, competition policy, aviation policy, transportation decarbonisation, and regional policy.

Aaron’s PhD research employs quantitative approaches to examine how work from home arrangements impact labour market outcomes. Aaron’s project is focused on the effect that work from home and remote work arrangements have on career progression and life outcomes for employees in the public and private sectors, as well as the indirect effects on regional economies and housing markets.

Josh is a Senior Analyst in the Trials Research and Evaluation Team within the Employment Evaluation Branch at the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR). Within this role, he’s been working with administrative data as part of several randomised controlled trials that evaluate the effectiveness of Australia’s online employment services settings. Prior to joining DEWR, Josh worked in Treasury’s microdata team where his labour market analysis supported several budgets, the participation chapter of the 2023 Intergenerational Report, and the Employment White Paper.

Josh’s thesis will focus on place-based inequality in the Australian labour market. He will explore how communities experience economic transition, and the ways that local industry structure and employer characteristics influence the wages and employment opportunities available to individuals. The use of administrative data – including ALIFE and PLIDA/BLADE – for this research will add a more detailed and precise understanding of these issues, supporting improved policy design and targeting. Josh hopes that his research will help support cross-agency efforts to target entrenched disadvantage, promoting policies which boost regional resilience and support those cohorts who are most vulnerable in the labour market.

Vanessa is a research psychologist and Director with 18 years of experience in the Australian Public Service (APS) across Defence and the Australian Public Service Commission. During her time at Defence, Vanessa led research covering military recruitment and retention, cultural reform, mental health, diversity, and organisational leadership. Since joining the APSC in 2021, she has held Director roles responsible for APS-wide workforce data reporting and research to inform APS workforce policies and strategies.

A 2024 Senate inquiry noted a need for research on whether menopausal symptoms may prompt women to reduce work hours, change job roles, forego promotion or leave work altogether. Vanessa’s research aims to explore this within the APS, and to uncover factors that may help workplaces to address this. She hopes that outcomes from her research will help the APS to maximise the potential of this experienced and important cohort.

Katy joined the public service in 2006 at what is now the Department of Social Services. An interest in the well-being of Indigenous people, particularly in remote areas, led her to take on work for the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health in Sydney, and also with the Indigenous Coordination Centre in Darwin. Since 2012, Katy’s work has been on the evaluation and policy development of income management.

Katy’s research will explore the historical, political, social and economic context of the non-attendance of Indigenous primary school-age children in remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. It will take a multi-method approach, investigating attendance trends through use of school attendance data, and will use qualitative data to explore, on individual and community levels, the reasons why some policies may, or may not, support or improve school attendance.

Since starting as a graduate at the Treasury in 2004, Jennifer’s work experience has involved rigorous analysis of Asian economies, a deep understanding of the Australian economy and an appreciation of the importance of effective international economic engagement. In 2021 Jenny moved to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Jennifer’s study examines the dynamics of the Chinese labour market and links to an analysis of China’s broader economic growth prospects.  A deeper understanding of the Chinese economy is of critical policy relevance, with China’s overall growth trajectory of particular importance to Australia’s prosperity.

Carrie has worked at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) since 2010. Most recently, she was a Director in the Data Integration Services Branch, leading a team of data engineers to build, maintain and enhance the Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA, formerly known as MADIP). In this role, Carrie oversaw significant expansion and enhancement of PLIDA to increase the frequency and timeliness of data updates and improve the usability of the data for researchers.

Through her work at the ABS, Carrie developed an appreciation of some common challenges experienced by government and academic researchers working with data from PLIDA. This inspired the topic of Carrie’s PhD research in the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at ANU, which aims to develop methods to identify cohorts of interest in integrated data assets such as PLIDA. Carrie hopes this work will assist government researchers to make better use of PLIDA for policy formulation and evaluation.

Stuart joined the Department of Health and Aged Care as a Director in 2018, bringing with him 20 years' experience across the spectrum of health provision both in Australia and overseas. Most recently, His work has focused on blood borne viruses, sexually transmissible infections and Torres Strait health policy. Stuart holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy, a Master of Health Services Management and is a Fellow with the Australasian College of Health Services Management. He is a reservist officer in the Australian Army.

Stuart's research will examine the models of care across Australia for testing, treatment and prevention of sexually transmissible infections with a particular focus on congenital syphilis. Stuart hopes to use this research to then implement new policy and fulfil the government's aim to eliminate congenital syphilis and eliminate sexually transmissible infections as a public health threat.

Ben is an experienced economist and international lawyer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), with specialist expertise in geoeconomics and economic security. Ben has represented the Australian Government overseas in Mexico City, The Hague and Beijing, and served as legal advisor for Australia in two major international disputes. He holds an MSc Economics from the London School of Economics and joins ANU from DFAT's Geoeconomics Unit, where he played a leading role in building government policy on economic security and shaping Australian strategy at the intersection of economics and strategic competition. Ben's PhD research uses economic methodologies to define economic security risks and explain variation in countries' policy preferences.