ANNUAL REPORT 2015 Unlocking the secrets of intergenerational disadvantage ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course The ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course acknowledges our partners: Director’s report Director’s Contents Governance Director’s report 6 Research Governance and structure 10 Research 14 Research Program 1 Program Research Key performance indicators: Research findings and centre-specific indicators 17 Research outputs 18 Program 1 Disadvantage Systems 30 Program 2 Human Capabilities 40 Program 3 Social Transformation 50 Research Program 2 Program Research Building capacity 58 Key performance indicators: Research training and professional education 60 Key performance indicators: International, national and regional links and networks 60 Research Program 3 Program Research End-user links 78 Key performance indicators: End-user links 79 Organisational support 82 Building capacity Key performance indicators: Organisational support 83 Financial statement 83 End-user links Organisational supportOrganisational Director’s report In 2015, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course (Life Course Centre or LCC) moved from establishment to consolidation, driven by our goal to become the ‘go to’ centre for research, evidence, training and translation about the transmission of social disadvantage. As is natural in the early years of setting up a centre, some of our energies have focused on formulating and developing administrative processes and policies to ensure the smooth running of the multitude of activities, but there are many research and engagement highlights to report, even in this early stage of our term. One of the most exciting and potentially The University of Queensland, is using TDS2 transformative achievements in our brief life to test whether individual preferences for risk course as a centre is our collaboration with various and self-control are associated with truancy in government partners on projects using integrated a population of disadvantaged adolescents in administrative data. This is a key focus of research Queensland. TDS2 links the administrative social in Program 1 on Disadvantage Systems, where assistance records of a birth cohort of young we are concentrating our efforts to support Australians to those of their parents. The dataset development of a platform for social scientists to will become an essential resource for investigating access and analyse the wealth of data routinely the dynamics of intergenerational disadvantage collected by government agencies. While Australia in Australia. has invested heavily in several gold standard longitudinal surveys, such as the Household, In Program 3 on Social Transformation research, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia our planned population trial was boosted by Survey and the Longitudinal Study of Australian the Queensland Government’s announcement Children, a large amount of material relevant for that over $6 million would be invested to make understanding life-course pathways is routinely the popular Triple P Positive Parenting Program collected in various administrative datasets that (developed by LCC Chief Investigator Prof Matt are not readily accessible for research. Our goal Sanders) available to all families in Queensland. is to advance awareness of the value of such This is indeed a transformational development data and to advance processes for accessing and one that has the potential to lift many families and analysing this material. We have already out of social disadvantage. We congratulate Prof developed baseline protocols for this work, and Sanders and his team on this development, and a number of preliminary research activities are look forward to working with our government underway to help unlock the enormous potential partners to further advance our understanding of these data for understanding pathways into of the transformational possibilities of improved and out of disadvantage over the life course and parenting practices. The research team for the across generations. LCC population trial is currently consulting with the Commonwealth and Queensland The insights to be gained from using governments to gain access to administrative administrative data also underpin our work data to assess trial outcomes. in other programs. In Program 2 on Human Capabilities, our teams have collected the In addition to developing our existing research Transgenerational Data Set 2 (TDS2). The team, programs, the LCC team continues to bring new comprising researchers from The University ideas to the table to expand and build on the of Melbourne, The University of Sydney and research activities within our funded program areas. 6 Life Course Centre Annual Report 2015 Our working papers and LCC Fellowship programs One such project supported collaborative play an ongoing role in building our networks and research on social distance, discrimination and links with researchers and end users in Australia disadvantage with the International Centre report Director’s and overseas. In 2015, we published 42 working for Muslim and Non-Muslim Understanding at papers, with many of our earlier working papers the University of South Australia. Survey data starting to appear in top international journals. collected from this project have the potential Developing future research leaders plays a to provide the basis for ongoing work on social vital part in advancing our research agenda inclusion, cohesion and disadvantage, including and ensuring that we are well placed to leave work currently underway examining data from an enduring legacy of emerging new research one of Australia’s newest longitudinal surveys, leaders. We enrolled eight new postgraduate Building a New Life in Australia: The Longitudinal students during the year to work on LCC research, Study of Humanitarian Migrants. and celebrated six postgraduate completions. Another highlight has been our success in A highlight for 2015 was LCC’s inaugural attracting the best and brightest early career conference in Brisbane in October. It was one researchers to LCC, with eight new research of the few times since the centre’s launch a year appointments made in our four Australian earlier that so many of our key players could universities in 2015. gather under one roof, a challenge for a large, As in 2014, we set aside funding in 2015 to geographically dispersed centre such as this. support new initiatives under a Capacity Building The conference attracted over 170 delegates, Fund that helps LCC to deliver its strategic with keynote presentations from some of our goals, including facilitating collaboration and international and domestic partners. We were engagement between researchers, government, non-government organisations and other honoured to host the Honourable Bill English, stakeholders. To date, we have supported 15 new Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand (and projects through this program, including: a mix Minister of Finance and Minister Responsible of small seed grants designed to leverage further for Housing New Zealand Corporation), who funding for new initiatives; workshops to bring delivered a speech on New Zealand’s social together teams of researchers; and travel grants to investment model to conference delegates. develop new collaborations. Prof Janeen Baxter Centre Director 7 We look forward to following on from this Looking forward to 2016, as LCC moves from successful event with the Longitudinal Data infancy to adolescence in its own life course, I am Conference in October 2016. LCC is partnering keen for us to make significant inroads on the with the Department of Social Services National goals we set ourselves as detailed in the Annual Centre for Longitudinal Data and others to activity plan following. organise and promote the conference, and we look forward to a stimulating exchange of Our priorities include moving forward with ideas about policy insights from survey and projects that will demonstrate the potential of administrative data. linked administrative data for evidence-based policy, continuing our research and translation It hasn’t all been smooth sailing of course and, agendas across the programs, building new like other centres, we continue to face challenges partnerships, and attracting more research of working effectively across our disciplinary higher degree (RHD) students and early career boundaries and across universities and countries, researchers (ECRs) on our quest to unlock more of and ensuring that we are effectively engaging the secrets to intergenerational disadvantage. with all our partners to develop the research and activities that benefit both our scientific and impact agendas. Prof Janeen Baxter Centre Director Annual activity plan 2016 Action Description Responsibility Due Governance and structure 1. Strategic plan Monitor and review progress against the strategic plan CD Baxter Q2 2. Governance Evaluate the effectiveness of LCC’s organisational structure, CD Baxter Q1 including programs, management, committees and engagement by chief investigators (CIs) and partner investigators (PIs) 3. Review Develop a plan to ensure that LCC is on track for its mid-term CD Baxter Q3 review in 2017 Research 4. Research strategy Review LCC’s research strategy and potential for long-term CI Zubrick Q1 research impact, and identify potential gaps and opportunities for new research, research translation and funding opportunities 5. Flagship research Develop at least one new large-scale