Care Economics, Social and Policy

Professor Alex Maritz and his team are exploring the characteristics and challenges faced by global starts ups founded by entrepreneurs pursuing their own self-employment goals while simultaneously holding down a paid job. This project will use this understanding to develop policy recommendations aimed at better supporting social enterprises.

Professor Suzanne Young is identifying the experiences of migrants employed in residential aged care and horticulture during Covid. This research aims to understand how improvements in employment conditions can support migrants and their respective communities maintaining a more sustainable workforce in both sectors.

Professor Alex Maritz is researching how the entrepreneurial capabilities of social enterprises could inform service provision innovations. Known for their transformative solutions and cutting-edge problem solving, this research is seeking to understand whether the dynamics of social enterprises have application in tackling some of the intractable problems across our care sectors.

Our researchers, Dr Heng Jiang, Professor Nicholas Morris and Associate Professor Anne-Marie Laslett are working with several data agencies to map and estimate the care needs of people who use alcohol and other drugs in Victoria, with an aim to produce future national estimates. The research is examining how needs vary across socioeconomic areas and will inform future service planning.

Dr Marc Trabsky’s research is generating new knowledge of how forensic imaging technology impacts coronial investigations in Australia. A deeper understanding of how technology can improve efficiency and accuracy of investigations will have significant benefits for legal services as well as families and communities involved in these processes.