Framing the Policy Analysis of OECD and Australian VET Interaction: Two Heuristics of Policy Transfer

Legrand, Tim; Vas, Christopher

doi:10.1080/13876988.2014.910909

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…Implications for policy can also be drawn from the above, particularly in terms of the emphasis that can be placed on further engagement with governments and the public sector in the co‐creation of socially innovative solutions for wider communities. In the policy science discipline, a burgeoning literature has emerged on policy transfer across international borders deepening insights into institutions like the OECD and their role in the incubation of ideas and its influence on social innovation among stakeholders (Legrand and Vas, ). This paper provides an impetus to take its findings on social innovation processes across disciplines, and cross‐fertilise knowledge from them.…”

Section: Conclusion and Directions For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

An incubation perspective on social innovation: the London Hub – a social incubator

et al. 2015

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In the context of incubators, particularly those that are driven to achieving social objectives, this paper investigates core processes that support the development of social innovation. Social innovation, as this paper argues, is underpinned by a new form of social collaboration and engagement built upon strong forms of sharing knowledge and learning. Coupled with this is the element of social capital reinforced by entrepreneurship and leadership that promotes sustainability in the community. These factors drive innovative thinking and ways of engaging among stakeholders in order to create new forms of socio-economic impact. Such value-creating activity occurs in firms that operate within incubators involving a wide range of stakeholders who work through networks to co-create and meet social challenges. Through a case study of a social incubator and an incubatee, we demonstrate the core processes that irradiate the argument on social innovation. The contribution of this paper is threefold: First, social innovation is an emerging area of research, of which there is a dearth in terms of examining the processes empirically. We address the gap in this field by demonstrating the value of social collaboration and engagement using different innovation models. Second, we establish links between social innovation and incubation using the concept of social capital. This allows us to achieve our third contribution: exemplification of a dyadic value-based partnership and collaboration processes between an incubator and an incubatee, through activities driven by social innovation that aim to have social impact. The paper concludes with practice implications and suggests directions for future research.

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Section: Conclusion and Directions For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

An incubation perspective on social innovation: the London Hub – a social incubator

et al. 2015

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“…However, the ALLP in 1991, in the wake of national policy statements on the need for Skills for Australia (Dawkins and Holding 1987), and the beginnings of a training reform agenda, brought adult literacy and numeracy programmes strongly within the training values of VET, and over the next 20 years adult literacy and numeracy programmes have become increasingly vocationalised. Recent VET policy in Australia has been subject to similar dominant OECD discourses (Legrand and Vas 2014) to those outlined earlier in this paper which have influenced adult literacy policy. So much so that recent major VET policy reports (e.g.…”

Section: The Australian Policy Context -The Allp As a Forerunnermentioning

confidence: 89%

Research that counts: OECD statistics and ‘policy entrepreneurs’ impacting on Australian adult literacy and numeracy policy

Black

Yasukawa

2016

Research in Post-Compulsory Education

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This paper analyses research that has impacted on Australia's most recent national policy document on adult literacy and numeracythe National Foundation Skills Strategy (NFSS). The paper draws in part on Lingard's 2013 paper entitled 'The impact of research on education policy in an era of evidence-based policy' in which he outlines the distinction between research for and of policy. The former is privileged in education policy formation and comprises largely statistical evidence (i.e. 'policy as numbers') often drawing on the globalised authority of organisations such as the OECD, along with research commissioned by policy makers and undertaken by 'policy entrepreneurs'. Research of policy represents academically oriented research, which is often qualitative, seeks new knowledge, and may challenge the status quo. Through an analysis of studies cited in and thus impacting on the NFSS, we detail the main authors of research for policy and indicate their ideological commitment to the neoliberal agenda that now dominates the adult literacy and numeracy field in Australia and other OECD countries. Research of policy in this context has had little policy impact, but is nevertheless promoted by the authors as a means of countering the current reductionist discourses of adult literacy and numeracy reflected in national policy.

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“…Further, there is a strong need for a national or industrial apprenticeship scheme along the lines that exists in Australia or Germany which combines work, study and on-the-job training to attract young people to take a chance on manufacturing. The OECD’s “Learning for Jobs” initiative provides insights on how the Singapore society, generally, can move beyond its traditional mindset of vocational education and training being the “poorer cousin” of higher education (Legrand and Vas, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Middle East for example, the need to restructure national economies away from their traditional reliance on oil and gas revenues has become more acute, and with it, the challenges of improving productivity and participation in the economy by skilled young people. Working through similar experiences and by leveraging the network of epistemic communities like the OECD, as Legrand and Vas (2014) discuss, economies like Singapore and those across the Middle East can look to “foreshorten the usual lengthy policy learning timelines, and facilitate rapid policy transfer and change” (p. 237).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The challenges of state intervention in Singapore’s youth labour market

Waring

Vas

Bali

2018

EDI

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the efficacy of the policy measures to encourage young Singaporeans to pursue employment in the manufacturing sector while at the same time discouraging the sector’s traditional dependence on low-cost foreign labour. In doing so, the paper sheds light on the challenges faced by small and medium enterprises (SME) as well as the less than optimum impact the policy rhetoric has had on redirecting the aspirations of young people away from tertiary qualifications attainment and towards vocational skills development. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on primary survey data of 222 manufacturing firms and in-depth interviews with 20 SME leaders in Singapore. Findings The paper argues that despite the government’s policy efforts to encourage the employment of young Singaporeans in the manufacturing sector, the impact has been negligible. Even with moves to increase the transaction costs of employing foreign workers, the findings indicate that SMEs have not changed their staffing policies. Indeed, the results lay bare the low cost-low skill/low productivity trap that most SMEs now find themselves in. The government’s efforts to discourage the pursuit of tertiary qualifications in favour of vocational qualifications are unlikely to succeed. Originality/value The value of this research is fourfold. First, it exposes the difficulty of policy overcoming path dependency. Second, it sheds light on the need for government to rethink its policy approach in how best to re-tool human capital for traditional industry sectors like manufacturing. Third, the results show that there is limited efficacy in simply increasing transaction costs and altering rhetoric to discourage attainment of tertiary qualifications unless vocational employment is adequately remunerated. And finally, the results indicate that firms in the manufacturing sector need to embrace new business models, practices and technologies that are reflective of the digital era to be able to attract youth.

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Framing the Policy Analysis of OECD and Australian VET Interaction: Two Heuristics of Policy Transfer

Cited by 10 publications

References 33 publications

An incubation perspective on social innovation: the London Hub – a social incubator

An incubation perspective on social innovation: the London Hub – a social incubator

Research that counts: OECD statistics and ‘policy entrepreneurs’ impacting on Australian adult literacy and numeracy policy

The challenges of state intervention in Singapore’s youth labour market

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