James Martin Institute will give academics a direct line to government

Western Sydney Uni chancellor Peter Shergold will chair a new think tank which will connect university researchers and government policy makers.

Wstern Sydney University chancellor Peter Shergold will chair the James Martin Insitute, a new think tank with a direct line to government.

A new independent public policy institute, backed by the NSW government, will give academic experts a direct line into policy making, allowing them to use their expertise and knowledge to influence government decisions.

Western Sydney University chancellor and former head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Peter Shergold will chair the new body, named after former NSW premier and chief justice James Martin.

Quietly established in 2019, the James Martin Institute for Public Policy is emerging from the shadows, revealing itself as an innovative group offering universities a new way to be relevant.

Professor Shergold said the problem academics faced if they wanted to use their research to influence public policy was that they were not “in the tent”.

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“There is a failure going on here because in science, in health, in the liberal arts and in particular, from my point of view, in social sciences, there are academics and researchers undertaking work which should help to inform public policy advice, but is really having very little influence,” he said.

Professor Shergold said “the dream” behind the new institute was that “a genuinely two-way collaborative relationship” could be established between universities and government, and that academics would think about how they could translate their research into evidence which would have a “real concrete impact on public policy decisions”.

The new institute is originally the brainchild of NSW Infrastructure Minister Rob Stokes who, when he was education minister, believed NSW needed to push back against Victoria, which had declared itself “the education state”.

Mr Stokes decided part of the solution was to establish a strong public policy institute to rival the Grattan Institute in Melbourne.

Libby Hackett, CEO of the James Martin Institute for Public Policy

“I felt it was an opportunity to replicate that, with a difference,” he said.

Unlike Grattan which produces reports inhouse, JMI calls directly on universities to contribute their expertise. Mr Stokes said it would give universities an opportunity to contribute to solving real world problems.

He said JMI was intended to be bipartisan. “It’s a resource for everybody. It should be political but not partisan,” Mr Stokes said.

He said his successor as Education Minister, Sarah Mitchell, had continued the government’s commitment to JMI “with gusto”.

The government has supplied the institute with $10m seed money and three universities – Sydney, Western Sydney and UTS – will together commit $2m a year for five years, half in cash and half in kind.

JMI chief executive Libby Hackett said the aim of the organisation was to transform the relationship between universities and government.

Several reports for the NSW government, using academic expertise, are already complete. Last September JMI handed the government a list of economic stimulus options to help the state lift economic activity post-Covid.

The investment proposals were divided between “quick wins”, “hard wins” and “strategic investments”. A quick win was to accelerate international student return, a hard win was a fund for front line charities, and a strategic investment was to build mRNA and life sciences capability.

It also advocated deeper reform options, such as a payroll tax holiday and simplified government grant application processes.

The institute has released an abridged version of the full report. It has also completed, but not yet publicly released, work on domestic violence reoffending and women’s economic opportunity.

Ms Hackett said JMI would be “at arm’s length from government, not reactive, but responsive to their challenges”.

“We will work with, but not for, government,” she said.

“So far we have had a remarkable level of access and support.”

Already JMI is thinking about how it can expand, bringing in more universities and offering policy advice to other governments. “It’s an option for us in the future,” Ms Hackett said.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said in a statement that Professor Shergold’s appointment would “further enhance” JMI’s ability to tackle tough issues facing society.

“He and Libby will make a formidable team and I look forward to working with them to find new policy solutions that will benefit the people of NSW,” he said.

NSW Opposition leader Chris Minns also congratulated Professor Shergold and said JMI’s work helped deliver policy and expertise for the betterment of the state.