Comparative social policy can give us insights into how well we are responding to a social issue and give us a greater appreciation of the available policy options. Of course, just because a policy works in one context does not mean that it will work in another. The assessments in this unit aim to give you practice communicating your ideas about comparative social policy using a variety of formats that are widely used in modern workplaces. The Scoping Paper, Work-In-Progress Presentation, and Discussion Paper should be thought of as part of one larger assignment. You are required to select one social policy issue to be the focus for all three assignments and compare developments in Australia with TWO other countries. You should select ONE country from Europe, North America or New Zealand. And, you should select ONE country from Africa, Asia or Latin America. To reiterate, the three assessments should be focused on comparing the same social policy issue in three appropriate countries.

Scoping papers are widely used in the public sector and beyond to help manage research, report and project work. In this scoping paper, you are required to identify the social policy issue (you have selected), explain its importance, provide an overview of relevant policy settings, and outline your proposed approach to the discussion paper. Please take care to identify which countries you will compare and contrast Australia with and why.

N.B. Please contact the unit convenor via email with your proposed social policy issue by week 4 to ensure its suitability.

Building on the Scoping Paper, the Work-In-Progress Presentation is designed to help you organise your ideas and get feedback on your work to date preparing the Discussion Paper. This task will require you to deliver a 10-minute presentation and then lead discussion for a further 5 to 10 minutes during the seminar in either week 11 or 12. It provides an opportunity to share your understanding of the policy issue you have selected and present your comparative analysis, as well as get valuable feedback from your colleagues. 

The presentation should give a clear overview of the policy environment in Australia, identify major issues and explain how the comparative analysis will be undertaken to allow key areas of reform to be identified. You are welcome to use PowerPoint or other supported presentation aids (such as handouts). You are encouraged to facilitate discussion, but do not feel that you have to have all the answers. You might like to bring along a couple of questions for the audience to garner feedback about particular aspects of your approach as well as taking questions from the floor. 

You will need to submit a one-page summary of your presentation, along with any materials or files you use (such as pdfs of powerpoint slides). These materials need to be submitted online via Turnitin directly after your presentation. A rubric will be provided on the unit iLearn page by the mid-semester study period. 

N.B. It is important that you select the same policy issue for the Scoping Paper, Work-In-Progress Presentation, and Discussion Paper.

The major task for this capstone unit is a discussion paper. Widely used in the public sector and social science workplaces, discussion papers are in-depth reports that canvass the current state of affairs and evidence on an issue, policy or proposal for reform. Discussion papers often precede public and parliamentary inquiries, as well as major reviews or public campaigns. There is no single approach or format for writing discussion papers, but they are designed to stimulate discussion among stakeholders on the issue, review evidence, chart out options for reform and garner feedback.

You are required to write a discussion paper in SOCI 811 about the social policy issue identified in the scoping paper and featuring in your work-in-progress presentation. Your discussion paper can take a perspective, but should still provide a balanced account of the social policy issue. Your discussion paper should identify the current state of affairs of the issue (in Australia), review relevant policy and theoretical debates, discuss the merits and challenges of adopting other countries' approaches to the social issue, and, based on this theoretical and comparative analysis, draw out and explain which key areas are in need of reform. You are also asked to develop key questions for stakeholders to help guide debate. Given the focus and location of the course, your paper should dedicate considerable space to critically comparing and contrasting the approaches of multiple countries.

While there is no single way to write a discussion paper, your discussion paper for this course should be structured with the following sections:

* abstract (150 words)

* introduction

* policy environment and the case for reform

* theoretical discussion of the policy issue

* international comparisons and evaluation of existing practices 

* explain key priorities for reform

* identify questions for stakeholders

* reference list 

The abstract and reference list do not have to be included in the word count. You are also welcome to use appendices. For instance, you might provide more detailed statistical evidence from the Australian Bureau of Statistics or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to further support your claims or to contrast the policy context in Australia with that of other countries. But, keep in mind that appendices do not 'speak for themself' and need to be introduced in the main text of your paper where relevant. 

If you want to vary the structure from that outlined above, an alternative plan for the discussion paper must be provided to the unit convenor in writing at least 4 weeks before the due date and approved via email.  

The weekly seminars are compulsory. To meet the requirements of this course, you are required to attend at least 80 per cent of seminars. In addition to attending, you are also expected to actively participate. As an incentive, 10 percent of your final mark will be awarded for your attendance and your participation. We will look for evidence that you have done the readings and your ability to engage respectfully with other students.