A new ANZSOG-funded research report takes a new approach to the challenge of rebuilding Australian government capacity for major reform, by applying a ‘social licence to operate’ (SLO) lens to policy change.
From entrenched disadvantage and climate change to geopolitical instability and artificial intelligence, governments around the world face an urgent need to deliver major, cross-cutting policy reforms.
In Australia, recent progress on complex reform has been limited, by competing evidence claims and resourcing allocations, complexity of the federal system, and risk-averse approaches by elected governments and public services.
The Strengthening Australia’s Reform ‘Muscle’ via Social Licence to Operate: Evidence and Practice report and accompanying case studies explore how public sector organisations can build the conditions required for successful reform. They apply an SLO framework to improve understanding of the social drivers of policy reform, and identify public service capabilities that contribute to the reform muscle required.
The research is the product of an ANZSOG Research Model project, supported by the ANU’s Crawford School and the SA Department of Premier and Cabinet, and undertaken by a team led by Ruth O’Connor, Sara Bice and Hayley Henderson.
This report synthesises the findings from a literature review on social licence for policy reform and seven case studies commissioned from policy experts. It looks at how SLOs are defined, what can be learnt by looking at successful reforms through an SLO lens, and what are the most promising strategies for strengthening and sustaining social licence for major policy reform.
The main challenges to achieving social licence identified in the research are:
1. Politicisation of decision-making which contributes to a loss of trust in government.
2. The rise of disinformation which is commonly triggered by policy debate and destabilises democratic processes.
3. Reform in response to crisis where participation, transparency and/or evidence are sidelined and government legitimacy is compromised.
4. Sustaining conflicting ‘licences’ (e.g.appropriate disabilitysupport vs reduced expenditure on disability support).
5. Actual or perceived lack of fairness in distribution of benefits or burdens associated with reform.
The research was launched at an event at the National Press Club in Canberra on 21 October attended by senior public servants. The launch included a panel debate, facilitated by Distinguished Professor Renée Fry-McKibbin, featuring panellists: Dr Rachel Bacon, Deputy Commissioner Integrity, Reform and Enabling Services at the Australian Public Service Commission; Professor Sara Bice, Special Advisor Executive Education, Crawford School of Public Policy; Brenton Caffin, Executive Director, Economic, Environment and Infrastructure Policy, Department of the Premier and Cabinet (SA); and Kelly Grigsby, CEO, Municipal Association of Victoria.
You can read the speech that Professor Bice gave at the event here.
Recent research suggests an SLO originates at a local community scale. The implication for policy is that mandates for reform will not necessarily trickle down, and that rather than having a “mandate” via the electoral process, governments govern “via persuasion” where they need to continually make the case for reform to different communities, stakeholders or publics. SLO may be particularly relevant when reforms are contentious or risk dividing communities.
The case studies showed that the concept of acceptance is multi-faceted. A given reform may involve multiple social licences with potentially competing priorities. Forms of acceptance identified were: political acceptance of the need for reform (political licence); community acceptance of the need for reform (social licence); and acceptance of specific reform options and their consequences such as financial cost or loss of local amenity.
This research is part of ANZSOG’s work to strengthen public administration in Australia, and help build governance that people trust. Creating the conditions for successful reform by building a baseline of social licence is not just important for individual initiatives, it strengthens the system as a whole. Without opportunities for well-designed reform, public sector capability may suffer atrophy, weakening governments’ ability to maintain public trust.