Metadata
Title
Alastair Stark
Category
general
UUID
98f0d68ace5d403baf93e3579c6fe20c
Source URL
https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/2670
Parent URL
https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/47249
Crawl Time
2026-03-11T07:47:01+00:00
Rendered Raw Markdown 
# 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](mailto:alastair.stark@uq.edu.au)

Phone:
:   [+61 7 336 52655](tel:+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](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/search?research-field=4755)
[Policy and administration](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/search?research-field=4832)
[Public policy](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/search?research-field=6813)

### 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

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- #### Governance

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- #### Crisis Management

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- #### Deliberative Democracy

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## Works

[Search Professor Alastair Stark’s works on UQ eSpace](http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/list/author_id/92022)

[All
(36)](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts-publication/2670/all)
[Book
(4)](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts-publication/2670/4747)
[Journal Article
(27)](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts-publication/2670/4748)
[Book Chapter
(5)](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts-publication/2670/4752)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:f5b83ef)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:195d78c)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:1f70380)

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?](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:fda591f)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:33b964d)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:58452bc)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:ebe37a5)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:bde513a)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:b50f81e)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:aef2758)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:1e16a02)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:5f891eb)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:1671e02)

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

[Understanding policy responses to COVID-19: the stars haven’t fallen from the sky for scholars of public policy](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:9951a50)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:5a4baab)

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?](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:5e0c9ca)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:ac1beea)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:9d72a15)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:19c74d8)

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](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:0f1cc07)

## Funding

### Past funding

- 2021 - 2025

  How do Changes in Institutional Memory Affect Public Policy Processes?

  ARC Discovery Projects

  [Open grant](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/47249)
- 2018 - 2022

  Do Public Inquiries Matter? Tracking Inquiry Implementation in Australia

  ARC Discovery Projects

  [Open grant](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/33180)
- 2016 - 2019

  Connecting social policy and urban planning for a low carbon future

  ARC Discovery Projects

  [Open grant](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/27941)
- 2015

  Can public inquires promote effective policy learning after crises?

  UQ Early Career Researcher

  [Open grant](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/23755)
- 2012 - 2013

  'Structured Ideas' and Crisis Management: Coordination during the Queensland Floods

  UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund

  [Open grant](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/project/45126)

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](https://study.uq.edu.au/study-options/phd-mphil-professional-doctorate/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](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/33712)

#### Completed supervision

- 2025

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Understanding the causes of conflict in disaster recovery collaborations](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:20412ff)

  Principal Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Professor Morgan Brigg](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/992)
- 2024

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Evaluating hydrogen attitudes and citizen transformation through deliberation](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:2d25b26)

  Principal Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Dr Kiah Smith](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/14632)
- 2019

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Policy innovations and agency under the one-party system of Vietnam: the study of primary education decision-making](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:e3e11d1)

  Principal Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Associate Professor Melissa Curley](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/1555)
- 2019

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Balancing Resilience in a Developing Context: Disaster Management in Vietnam](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:3d836ba)

  Principal Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Associate Professor Nicole George](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/2176)
- 2018

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Individual Risk Perception and Flood Mitigation: An Empirical Study of Protective Actions in Australia](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:724789)

  Principal Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Dr Simone Blomberg](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/428)
- 2018

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Post-Crisis Recovery and Policy Implementation: Public Asset Restoration in Queensland Local Government.](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:716950)

  Principal Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Associate Professor Ryan Walter](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/10262)
- 2023

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Small is Beautiful: Knowledge Sharing Dynamics in Indonesia's Puskesmas Model of Primary Health Care](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:39c2f72)

  Associate Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Dr Sam Hollingworth](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/1023), [Associate Professor Ryan Walter](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/10262)
- 2022

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Universal Basic Income: Disarticulating and Rearticulating Australian Discourses](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:c9ff878)

  Associate Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Professor Greg Marston](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/14689)
- 2021

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Bridging the Open Data and Public Policy Gap: Barriers and facilitators for effective government data sharing](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:8535bd5)

  Associate Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Dr Frank Mols](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/1851)
- 2021

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [The Institutionalisation of Special Autonomy as "Ethnic" Conflict Resolution? The Case of Papua, Indonesia](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:625bc4b)

  Associate Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Professor Morgan Brigg](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/992)
- 2020

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [The design and implementation of gambling regulation: a Queensland case study](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:a511ed2)

  Associate Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Professor Brian Head](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/1860)
- 2018

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Kiwi across the Ditch: An Interpretive Account of the 2001 Changes to Policies in Relation to Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangements](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:e528e87)

  Associate Advisor

  Other advisors:
  [Professor Kath Gelber](https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/2422)
- 2016

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Much Ado About Nothing? The Rhetoric and Reality of the Nuclear Renaissance](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:396569)

  Associate Advisor
- 2016

  Doctor Philosophy

  ##### [Rethinking fisheries management with meta-governance](https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:390554)

  Associate Advisor

View all 14 completed supervisions
View less

## Media

### Enquiries

For media enquiries about Dr Alastair Stark's areas of expertise, story ideas and help finding experts, contact our Media team:

[communications@uq.edu.au](mailto:communications@uq.edu.au)

## External profiles

- [ORCID](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6756-4028)
- [ResearcherID](https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/ )
- [Scopus](https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=7201745314)
- [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user= )

## Personal links

- [Personal profile](http://www.polsis.uq.edu.au/)

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