Research Interests

  • Evidence-based policy
  • Program evaluation
  • Early intervention and prevention
  • Social inclusion
  • Leadership strategies
  • Collaboration and consultation
  • Integrity and accountability
  • Service delivery
  • Complex wicked problems
  • Engaged research

Research Impacts

Professor Brian Head has provided submissions to numerous governmental policy reviews, on topics ranging from integrity and accountability, through to innovation and research impacts. He has been invited to present keynote addresses to several international conferences and workshops, including symposia organised by the OECD. He has been elected a Fellow of two professional associations and a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.

Qualifications

  • Fellow of Academy of the Social Sciences
  • PhD Politics, University of London
  • Master of Arts (Politics), Monash University

Researcher biography

Professor Brian Head joined the University of Queensland in mid-2007 after holding senior roles in government, universities, and the non-government sector. He is the author or editor of several books and numerous articles on public management, governance, social isues and environmental policy. His major interests are evidence-based policy, complex or 'wicked' problems, program evaluation, early intervention and prevention, collaboration and consultation, public sector integrity, and leadership. He has undertaken several consultancies on program evaluation, policy review, organisational performance, and good governance processes. He has strong interests in applied research across many areas of public policy and governance, and is committed to building closer links between the research and policy sectors. His recent books include Wicked Problems in Public Policy (2022, Palgrave, open access), Reconsidering Policy (2020, Policy Press, co-authored), and Learning Policy, Doing Policy (2021, ANU Press, co-edited).