Alastair Stark
Source: https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/2670 Parent: https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/47249
Dr
Alastair Stark
Email: : alastair.stark@uq.edu.au
Phone: : +61 7 336 52655
Positions
Associate Professor : School of Political Science and International Studies : Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Overview
Background
Alastair is a public policy scholar, a crisis management expert and has an ongoing interest in the institutionalization of participatory modes of governance. His current policy research examines the role that institutional amnesia plays in the policy process, his crisis management research has been focused upon the relationship between public inquiries and lesson-learning, and in relation to participatory governance, he is currently examining the validity of different forms of deliberative democracy in the context of Australian environmental policy. Alastair has published widely in high-ranking international journals and is the recipient of the Mayer Prize (best paper in the Australian Journal of Political Science) and the Lasswell Prize (best paper in Policy Sciences). He has authored three books, won three large-scale Australian Research Council Discovery grants and is always looking for outstanding students who may be interested in completing PhDs in relation to the topics outlined above.
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Availability
Dr Alastair Stark is: : Available for supervision
Fields of research
Human Society Policy and administration Public policy
Qualifications
- Masters (Coursework) of Science, University of Strathclyde
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Strathclyde
- Bachelor (Honours) of Arts, Glasgow Caledonian University
Research interests
-
Public Policy
Read more Read less - #### Governance
Read more Read less - #### Crisis Management
Read more Read less - #### Deliberative Democracy
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Works
Search Professor Alastair Stark’s works on UQ eSpace
All (36) Book (4) Journal Article (27) Book Chapter (5)
2025
Book Chapter
PUBLIC INQUIRIES AS ADVISORY POLICY TOOLS
Stark, Alastair and Yates, Sophie (2025). PUBLIC INQUIRIES AS ADVISORY POLICY TOOLS. The Routledge Handbook of Policy Advisory Systems. (pp. 277-292) Taylor and Francis. doi: 10.4324/9781003465720-29
PUBLIC INQUIRIES AS ADVISORY POLICY TOOLS
2025
Book Chapter
Policy inaction and agenda setting
Brown, Prudence R. and Stark, Alastair (2025). Policy inaction and agenda setting. Handbook of Public Policy Agenda Setting. (pp. 270-284) Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: 10.4337/9781035318513.00029
Policy inaction and agenda setting
2024
Book
Risk and Crisis Management in the Public Sector
Drennan, Lynn T., Dudau, Adina, McConnell, Allan and Stark, Alastair (2024). Risk and Crisis Management in the Public Sector. 3rd ed. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003367499
Risk and Crisis Management in the Public Sector
2024
Journal Article
Institutional Amnesia in Government : How much is enough?
Stark, Alastair (2024). Institutional Amnesia in Government : How much is enough?. Policy Quarterly, 20 (1), 3-9. doi: 10.26686/pq.v20i1.9046
Institutional Amnesia in Government : How much is enough?
2024
Book
Public inquiries and policy design
Stark, Alastair and Yates, Sophie (2024). Public inquiries and policy design. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781009286879
Public inquiries and policy design
2023
Journal Article
The traveller's guide to policy learning
Stark, Alastair and van der Arend, Jenny (2023). The traveller's guide to policy learning. Journal of European Public Policy, 31 (7), 1-22. doi: 10.1080/13501763.2023.2243997
The traveller's guide to policy learning
2023
Book Chapter
Measuring public inquiry success
Stark, Alastair (2023). Measuring public inquiry success. New directions in royal commissions and public inquiries: do we need them?. (pp. 195-215) edited by Scott Prasser. Australia: Connor Court.
Measuring public inquiry success
2023
Journal Article
A return to the classics? The implementation of royal commissions in Australia
Stark, Alastair, Punter, Helen and Zarrabi, Behnaz (2023). A return to the classics? The implementation of royal commissions in Australia. Australian Journal of Political Science, 58 (1), 19-36. doi: 10.1080/10361146.2022.2117017
A return to the classics? The implementation of royal commissions in Australia
2022
Journal Article
Dramaturgy and crisis management: a third act
Ball, Sarah, McConnell, Allan and Stark, Alastair (2022). Dramaturgy and crisis management: a third act. Public Administration, 100 (3) padm.12775, 585-599. doi: 10.1111/padm.12775
Dramaturgy and crisis management: a third act
2022
Journal Article
Policy inaction meets policy learning: four moments of non-implementation
Brown, Prudence R. and Stark, Alastair (2022). Policy inaction meets policy learning: four moments of non-implementation. Policy Sciences, 55 (1), 47-63. doi: 10.1007/s11077-021-09446-y
Policy inaction meets policy learning: four moments of non-implementation
2021
Journal Article
Public inquiries as procedural policy tools
Stark, Alastair and Yates, Sophie (2021). Public inquiries as procedural policy tools. Policy and Society, 40 (3), 1-17. doi: 10.1080/14494035.2021.1955485
Public inquiries as procedural policy tools
2021
Journal Article
Public deliberation and policy design
Stark, Alastair, Thomson, N. K. and Marston, Greg (2021). Public deliberation and policy design. Policy Design and Practice, 4 (4), 1-13. doi: 10.1080/25741292.2021.1912906
Public deliberation and policy design
2021
Book Chapter
Policy learning in the Australian public service
Stark, Alastair (2021). Policy learning in the Australian public service. The Oxford handbook of Australian politics. (pp. 397-414) edited by Jenny M. Lewis and Anne Tiernan. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198805465.013.24
Policy learning in the Australian public service
2021
Journal Article
Understanding policy responses to COVID-19: the stars haven’t fallen from the sky for scholars of public policy
McConnell, Allan and Stark, Alastair (2021). Understanding policy responses to COVID-19: the stars haven’t fallen from the sky for scholars of public policy. Journal of European Public Policy, 28 (8), 1115-1130. doi: 10.1080/13501763.2021.1942518
2019
Journal Article
Left on the shelf: Explaining the failure of public inquiry recommendations
Stark, Alastair (2019). Left on the shelf: Explaining the failure of public inquiry recommendations. Public Administration, 98 (3) padm.12630, 609-624. doi: 10.1111/padm.12630
Left on the shelf: Explaining the failure of public inquiry recommendations
2019
Journal Article
Connecting social and environmental policy in Australia: collateral gains or collateral damage?
Marston, Greg, Stark, Alastair, Matthews, Tony and Baker, Douglas (2019). Connecting social and environmental policy in Australia: collateral gains or collateral damage?. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 78 (1), 3-16. doi: 10.1111/1467-8500.12339
Connecting social and environmental policy in Australia: collateral gains or collateral damage?
2019
Journal Article
Policy learning and the public inquiry
Stark, Alastair (2019). Policy learning and the public inquiry. Policy Sciences, 52 (3), 397-417. doi: 10.1007/s11077-019-09348-0
Policy learning and the public inquiry
2019
Book Chapter
Institutional Amnesia and Crisis Management Analysis
Stark, Alastair (2019). Institutional Amnesia and Crisis Management Analysis. Oxford Encyclopedia of Crisis Analysis. (pp. 1-15) edited by Denis Fischbacher-Smith, Sanneke Kuipers, Allan McConnell and John Thomas Preston. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1526
Institutional Amnesia and Crisis Management Analysis
2019
Journal Article
Explaining institutional amnesia in government
Stark, Alastair (2019). Explaining institutional amnesia in government. Governance, 32 (1), 143-158. doi: 10.1111/gove.12364
Explaining institutional amnesia in government
2019
Journal Article
Institutional amnesia and public policy
Stark, Alastair and Head, Brian (2019). Institutional amnesia and public policy. Journal of European Public Policy, 26 (10), 1-19. doi: 10.1080/13501763.2018.1535612
Institutional amnesia and public policy
Funding
Past funding
- 2021 - 2025
How do Changes in Institutional Memory Affect Public Policy Processes?
ARC Discovery Projects
Open grant - 2018 - 2022
Do Public Inquiries Matter? Tracking Inquiry Implementation in Australia
ARC Discovery Projects
Open grant - 2016 - 2019
Connecting social policy and urban planning for a low carbon future
ARC Discovery Projects
Open grant - 2015
Can public inquires promote effective policy learning after crises?
UQ Early Career Researcher
Open grant - 2012 - 2013
'Structured Ideas' and Crisis Management: Coordination during the Queensland Floods
UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
View all 5 past funded projects View less
Supervision
Availability
Dr Alastair Stark is: : Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
- Doctor Philosophy
##### The Effectiveness of Rapid Evidence in Fast-Paced Policy Contexts
Principal Advisor - Doctor Philosophy
##### Institutional amnesia in New Zealand's climate change policy network
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Adam Hannah
Completed supervision
- 2025
Doctor Philosophy
##### Understanding the causes of conflict in disaster recovery collaborations
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Morgan Brigg - 2024
Doctor Philosophy
##### Evaluating hydrogen attitudes and citizen transformation through deliberation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kiah Smith - 2019
Doctor Philosophy
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Melissa Curley - 2019
Doctor Philosophy
##### Balancing Resilience in a Developing Context: Disaster Management in Vietnam
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Nicole George - 2018
Doctor Philosophy
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Simone Blomberg - 2018
Doctor Philosophy
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Ryan Walter - 2023
Doctor Philosophy
##### Small is Beautiful: Knowledge Sharing Dynamics in Indonesia's Puskesmas Model of Primary Health Care
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Sam Hollingworth, Associate Professor Ryan Walter - 2022
Doctor Philosophy
##### Universal Basic Income: Disarticulating and Rearticulating Australian Discourses
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Greg Marston - 2021
Doctor Philosophy
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Frank Mols - 2021
Doctor Philosophy
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Morgan Brigg - 2020
Doctor Philosophy
##### The design and implementation of gambling regulation: a Queensland case study
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Brian Head - 2018
Doctor Philosophy
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kath Gelber - 2016
Doctor Philosophy
##### Much Ado About Nothing? The Rhetoric and Reality of the Nuclear Renaissance
Associate Advisor - 2016
Doctor Philosophy
##### Rethinking fisheries management with meta-governance
Associate Advisor
View all 14 completed supervisions View less
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