DR HELEN SWAN. Principal Consultant Governance & Policy. Personal Details Professional Qualifications

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1 DR HELEN SWAN Principal Consultant Governance & Policy Personal Details Professional Qualifications Professional Memberships Capability Statement PhD (Governance), University of Canberra, 2010 Master of Social Sciences (Social Policy and Planning), Charles Sturt University 1999 Bachelor of Social Sciences (Social Welfare), Charles Sturt University, 1996 Australasian Evaluation Society National Institute of Rural and Regional Australia Australia and New Zealand School of Government, Institute of Governance Australia Institute of Public Administration of Australia Helen brings twenty years of experience in the public and private sector comprising a depth of evaluation activities, project and program management, team facilitation and collaboration and specific expertise of the three spheres of government. Helen has extensive experience in a range of qualitative and quantitative methodologies including interviewing, workshop and focus group facilitation, survey and questionnaire design and implementation (telephone, web-based) and interactive workshops. She has a deep academic and practitioner base underpinning her experience providing her with a strong grounding in research, policy development, implementation and community engagement and participation. Helen previously held executive level positions for ten years in the Australian Government Departments of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government and Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. She also held senior management positions in NSW Community Services and the ACT and NSW Local Government sector. Helen has specialist knowledge in governance and whole-of-government policy and how this translates to public sector effectiveness and efficiency. Her PhD thesis addressed this area and resulted in a policy and implementation framework incorporating both horizontal and vertical joining up of governance offering the potential for a more nationally consistent approach to regional governance in Australia. The study was the first of its kind in Australia and incorporated governance across the spatial, social, economic and environment dimensions. Professional Experience (in reverse chronological order) 2012 present, Principal Consultant-Policy & Governance, Sustineo Since joining Sustineo, Helen has also taken a lead role in Sustineo s domestic portfolio in business development comprising the preparation of complex tenders and consulting with Australian Government departments on building Sustineo s profile, developing partnerships and expanding our pool of associates , Manager Operations & Senior Consultant, Courage Partners Courage Partners is a management consulting business specialising in policy and program evaluation, facilitation, research, conduct of surveys, performance improvement and auditing and change management. As Manager Operations: Helen worked with various Australian Government and state/territory governments to define proposal requirements; manage the team to ensure the right resources are available to support the demand; manage the proposal team, serving as its primary point of contact, prepare winning proposals under tight deadlines, enforce the firm s processes, and oversee final proposal production. As Senior Consultant: Helen was responsible for project (budget and team) management, evaluation planning, design and conduct, consultation, survey design / implementation / analysis, report writing, presentations, field work , Program and Policy Analyst, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Review of funding submission administrative processes and procedures for the $550m Australian Government Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program.

2 Policy research, reports for the Local Government and Planning Ministers Council. Principal Researcher of the Spatial Characteristics of Welfare Recipients research study. Principal Researcher of the Cost of Remoteness research study. Project Manager COAG Urban Congestion Review. Project Manager Consultations on the Future of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy , Program and Policy Analyst, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Manager of National Indigenous Youth Leadership Programme, Business Partnership Agreement on Indigenous Service Delivery, Indigenous Family Violence Partnership Programme , Neighbourhood Planning Manager, ACT Planning and Land Management Recruit and lead a team of twelve people to develop the ACT Government s Neighbourhood Planning Policy. This was a place-based strategic approach to identifying the vision, needs and key priorities of neighbourhoods across the ACT , NSW Attorney General s Department/Queanbeyan City Council, Community Planning Advisor and Consultant, Crime Prevention Develop, implement, monitor and review the first Crime Prevention Strategy for the South East Region of NSW comprising: desk-top research of existing policies, programs and services, development of socioeconomic profiles, management of reference groups, survey and interview design, community consultation, data analysis, strategy development, complex report writing, presentation of progress reports , Principal Consultant, Creative Concepts Develop Social Plans for ten Local Government Areas in the Riverina region based on the Integrated Local Area Planning (ILAP) methodology. Community Planning Advisor for the NSW Department of Community Services, Riverina-Murray region. Community Planning Advisor for the Commonwealth Government Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Binaal Billa Region , Social Planning Manager, Wagga Wagga City Council Development of Wagga Wagga City s first Social Plan comprising: desk-top review of existing policies, programs and services; development of socio-economic profiles; interrogation of data bases; survey design; community consultation through interviews, workshops, interactive focus groups; data analysis; strategy development and negotiation; complex report writing and presentations of progress reports , Research Assistant/Executive Officer, Centre for Rural Social Research, Charles Sturt University- Riverina Research on rural communities, consultation with farming families on social, economic and environmental sustainability, project management, submission writing, publication development. Selected Consultancies Senior Consultant, Stage One Evaluation of the Remote Service Delivery Initiative, FaHCSIA (2013) The overall aim of the Remote Service Delivery (RSD) 2013 Final Evaluation is to assess whether the delivery of and access to services, and community and government capacity to engage with one another, improved and if the NPARSD has contributed to Closing the Gap objectives. Helen was involved in the Stage One stakeholder consultation component travelling to remote sites and interviewing multiple stakeholders. Lead Consultant, Development of Capability Strengthening Health Kit for Indigenous NGOs, FaHCSIA (2013) This project involved research on best practice quality management systems, appreciative and strengths based inquiry and running workshops to provide expert advice to FaHCSIA on capability strengthening of Indigenous NGOs in remote communities. The outcome is the development of a Health Kit comprising a range of tools to support FaHCSIA in implementing the Capacity Strengthening Initiative.

3 Senior Consultant, Research and Capacity Development for Governance and Administration of Budget- Based Funded Early Childhood Education and Care Services Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations ( ) Helen was involved in the development of self-assessment tools and quality improvement resources. Evaluation Mentor, Department of Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) (October 2012-May 2013) Helen provided evaluation mentoring for the Strengthening Aviation Security Initiative and the Indonesian Transport Safety Assistance Package for a number of activities including scoping and design, developing evaluation project plans, design of data collection strategies and preparing reports. Senior Consultant, Evaluation of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship s (DIAC) Community Status Resolution Program (January-September 2012) The Compliance Status Resolution Program (CSRP) supports the Government s detention values by actively working with persons to resolve their immigration status while they remain in the community and by ensuring decisions to detain are justified. The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the effectiveness, efficiency and appropriateness of the CSRP in advancing the Government s commitment to timely resolution of client immigration status. This was a very complex and politically sensitive evaluation comprising: - revision of the program logic - developing an evaluation monitoring and evaluation strategy and an evaluation project plan - conducting site visits to consult with clients - undertaking a survey with program staff and service delivery - complex data analysis and reporting to a high-level Steering Committee, and - delivery of draft and final reports. Senior Consultant, Development of an Evaluation Handbook for the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) (April-August 2012) Helen was part of a Courage Partners team to develop FaHCSIA s Evaluation Handbook. The purpose of the handbook is to provide a working understanding of the theory, principles and conduct of evaluation relevant to FaHCSIA, particularly for staff relatively new to evaluation so that they can contribute to improved program management and effectiveness. Project Director, Industry Consultations for the Evaluation of DIT s Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program (HVSPP) (April-August 2012) The HVSPP is part of the Australian Government s Nation Building Program which supports the improvement of land transport infrastructure across the National Land Transport Network (NLTN). Australian Government funding of $70m from to delivered projects under the four categories of rest areas, parking/decoupling bays, road enhancement and technology trials. Activities included desktop research of policy and program literature; interview design; consultation with peak industry bodies and key truck driver operators, relevant jurisdiction agencies and 120 truck drivers; data analysis; report writing and presentation to DIT s Evaluation Reference Group.

4 Project Director, Evaluation of FaHCSIA s Youth in Communities Program (June 2010-June 2012) YIC comprised $28.4 million under the Closing the Gap in the Northern Territory measure. YIC targets young Indigenous people years of age living in remote communities and being implemented over three years ( ). The purpose of the evaluation was to: develop an evaluation framework and methodology for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness and impact of activities funded under YIC undertake an interim evaluation to monitor and review implementation to date of YIC activities including recommendations for improving service delivery and more closely aligning program outputs to planned program outcomes; and conduct a final evaluation to assess the effectiveness and impact of the YIC program including a report to be made publicly available that documents the successes, challenges, lessons learnt and opportunities for further development of a youth services infrastructure in the NT arising out of the program. Activities included development of program logic; review of program and policy literature; ethics application preparation and management; survey design to survey funded services, interview design to consult with stakeholders, youth participating in the program and their families; site visit planning and scheduling; data analysis, writing draft and final reports and presentation of findings to FaHCSIA. Senior Consultant, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities Jobs Heritage Fund Program (March-September 2011) The Jobs Fund Heritage Program is a $60 million Australian Government program (and a component of the $650 million Jobs Fund initiative) designed to support and create jobs and skill development through projects that build heritage infrastructure and social capital in local communities. The purpose of the evaluation was to provide the Department with a source of information concerning: the effectiveness of the Jobs Fund Heritage Program in delivering the heritage outcomes detailed in the heritage guidelines for the Jobs Fund Program; the social and economic impacts (including potential impacts) of heritage grants (funded and non-funded) on the general community, as well as level of unmet demand; and opportunities for improving and widening future Australian Government involvement in heritage initiatives. Evaluation activities comprised developing an evaluation project plan, data collection strategy, review of program documentation, follow-up structured interviews with program managers and key stakeholders for a number of heritage funded sites, and telephone interviews with non-successful grant recipients. Senior Consultant, Evaluation of FaHCSIA s Targeted Community Care Mental Health Initiatives Remote Service Delivery Model (May 2010-April 2011) The aim of the evaluation was to inform future directions in policy and program development. Evaluation activities included design and development of an evaluation plan, conducting a literature review on best practice remote mental health service delivery both in Australia and overseas; client and stakeholder consultations through site visits, the design and conduct of an online survey of broader stakeholder groups, analysis of service performance reports, data analysis and report writing and progress reporting to an Evaluation Reference Group. Senior Consultant, Evaluation of the Child Support Agency s Change of Child Support Assessment process (March 2010-July 2010) This evaluation was conducted on a trial of the Change of Assessment (COA) process - a politically sensitive and core process delivered by the Child Support Agency. The evaluation examined the extent to which the trial of a revised COA process was on track to delivering intended outcomes, including the identification of opportunities for improvement. The evaluation was used to inform and support the anticipated national rollout of the process. The methodology involved structured interviews and or focus groups with staff and key stakeholders, a survey of a sample of Child Support customers and review of available quantitative and qualitative data. To support agency decision making, interim, draft and final evaluation reports were delivered. Presentation of papers Putting power back in to the regions Presentation to Regional Development Australia, University of New England, Armidale 12 October 2012

5 Regional Policy: governing for sustainability Seminar presentation to the National Institute for Rural and Regional Australia, Australian National University 31 May 2012 Nation building of towns, cities and regions: the search for coherence in an Australian Government policy framework presentation to the 35th Annual Conference of the Australia and New Zealand Regional Science Association International (ANZRSAI) Building Adaptive Regions Canberra, 6-9 December 2011 presentation to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Land and Coast Division March 2011 presentation to the Canberra Evaluation Forum, November 2010 presentation to the Planning Institute of Australia, ACT Division, October 2010 Nation building of towns, cities and regions: the search for coherence in an Australian Government policy framework Paper presented to Australia and New Zealand Planning Institute International Planning Conference April 2010, Christchurch, New Zealand The search for policy coherence: Australian regional governance in a Federal framework PhD seminar presentation to ANZSOG University of Canberra 10 March 2010 Final seminar on PhD study presented to: the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, October 2009; and the University of Canberra School of Business and Government and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, September 2009 Seminar presentation to the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) ACT Division on A Best Practice Social Plan: the basis for sound policy making, November 2006 Seminar presentation to the Municipal Association of Victoria on Developing a Social Plan: a rural regional perspective, February 1999 Paper presented to the Rural Communities Towards 2000 Conference on Integrated Local Area Planning Policy, March 1998