Biographical details
Allan McConnell is a political scientist whose main interests lie in various aspects of public policy making. He is particularly interested in how political factors (large P and small p) shape public policy, rather than us assuming that policy responses are purely ‘rational’. This interest has taken him into research that addresses issues such as responses to crises and disasters, policy success/failure, policy evaluation, wicked policy problems, placebo policies, hidden policy agendas and the politics of policy inaction. The common theme in all is that we can better understand what governments choose to do (and not), if we place policy making in the contexts of governments having to juggle with and trade off many different imperatives e.g. addressing the policy problem ‘on the ground’ vs. addressing public perceptions of the problem; forcefully tackling policy problem vs. token interventions with low risk of backfiring on policy agendas. Much of this research speaks to the issue of ‘good politics but bad policy’.
Allan was Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Associate Dean Research for the period 2015-2018. He was also the University ERA Steward for Peer Review disciplines for ERA 2018. In 2013-14 he was Acting Head of the School of Social and Political Sciences, and previously in 2012 was Chair of the Department of Government and International Relations.
Research interests
- Public policy analysis
- The politics of crises, disasters and policy failures
- Policy success
Awards and honours
2018: The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Mentoring and Leadership
2016: SUPRA Supervisor of the Year 2016 (Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association).
2014: Winner of the Political Studies Association (PSA) Harrison Prize for the best article published in Political Studies in 2013 for Hindmoor, A. and McConnell, A. (2013) 'Why Didn't They See it Coming? Warning Signs, Acceptable Risks and the Global Financial Crisis', Political Studies, Vol. 3 No. 1, 543 – 560.
2010: Winner of the J.E. Hodgetts Award for the best English-language article published in Canadian Public Administration during 2009 for Schwartz, R. and McConnell, A. (2009), ‘Do Crises Help Remedy Regulatory Failures? A Comparative Study of the Walkerton Water and Jerusalem Banquet Hall Disasters’, Canadian Public Administration, Vol. 52, No. 1, pp. 92-112.
Selected grants
2017
- Housing for Health: Fixing Infrastructure and Housing Policy in Indigenous Australia and Beyond; Lea T, McConnell A, Tawa M, Torzillo P; The Henry Halloran Trust/Incubator.
- RES: Research Agreement with Taronga Conservation Society Australia for project: "A Holistic Model of Measuring the Impact of Taronga Conservation Programs" (Kate Johnston); Johnston K, Probyn E, McConnell A, Neff C; Taronga Conservation Society Australia/Commissioned Research.
2010
- Governing vs. opposition parties and the global financial crisis: Comparing the United Kingdom and Australia; McConnell A; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP).
2006
- The Leadership Role of the Howard Government in Response to the Australian Wheat Board Crisis; McConnell A; School of Economics and Business, University of Sydney/Research Grant.
2005
- Learning from Water Contamination Crises? A Study of Post-Crises Inquiries in Canada, Australia and the UK; McConnell A; University of Sydney/Research & Development.
Selected publications
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Risk and Crisis Management in the Public Sector [2nd Edition] (Routledge, 2015)
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Emergency Policy (Ashgate, 2012)
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Understanding Policy Success: Rethinking Public Policy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010)
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Governing After Crisis: The Politics of Investigation, Accountability and Learning (Cambridge University Press, 2008)
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Risk and Crisis Management in the Public Sector (Routledge imprint of Taylor & Francis, 2007)
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Scottish Local Government (Edinburgh University Press, 2004)
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The Politics and Policy of Local Taxation in Britain (Tudor, 1999)
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State Policy Formation and the Origins of the Poll Tax (Aldershot, 1995)
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