A prestigious Academy of Social Science in Australia two-day workshop on the theme of ‘Improving Policies for Public Health’ was held at Flinders last week .

Co-convened by Professor Fran Baum (Southgate Institute) and Professor Adam Graycar (Social and Policy Studies), the workshop was attended by senior and early career academics from a number of Australian universities and international guest Professor Jennie Popay from the University of Lancaster, UK, as well as senior public health policy makers from South Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand.

“The workshop was abuzz with practical and theoretical discussion about how policies can be orientated to improve the health of Australians,” Professor Baum said.

“At the conclusion of the workshop, participants agreed they had learned a lot, and all stressed the value of bringing together policy makers and academics as a means of improving public policy making.”

The workshop also provided a forum for early career researchers to present and receive feedback from senior academic and policy colleagues and to learn more about the inside picture on policy-making processes.