Dr Sophie Yates
Research Fellow

Dr Sophie Yates

UNSW Canberra
School of Business

I am a Research Fellow at the Public Service Research Group, School of Business, UNSW Canberra. I am an Editorial Board member of Public Management Review (and run the journal's twitter account), a regular moderator of social policy blog Power to Persuade, an Associate of the Australian Human Rights Institute, and an Affiliate of the Centre for Research Excellence in Disability and Health.

Previously, I was a Research Fellow at the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), where I was Assistant Editor of ANZSOG's peer-reviewed journal Evidence Base, managed the School's competitive grants program, and wrote teaching cases for its Case Library.

I have an interest in value creation in public services, and particularly how public policy and public administration affect value creation and service experiences for marginalised groups. Current and recent projects include provider regulation in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), the service experiences of people after release from prison, the intersection of disability services and prisons, and demonstrating value in complex public service systems. My work has appeared in top international journals such as Public AdministrationPublic Administration Review and Public Management Review.

With co-author John Alford, I won the Sam Richardson Award for the most influential paper in the Australian Journal of Public Administration (2016), and the Outstanding Paper Award for the International Journal of Public Sector Management (2015). In 2018, I won the Osborne Best Paper Award for new researchers at the International Research Society for Public Management conference, and in 2019 was awarded the inaugural Rosemary O'Leary Prize for Scholarship on Women and Public Administration for my work on 'big G' and 'small g' gender.

In 2019, I completed my PhD on gender and the problem framing of family violence, for which I won the Dean's Research Award for Best HDR Doctoral Thesis. I have a B.Arts, a B.Mus(Hons) and a Master of Applied Linguistics from the University of Melbourne. I was the 2016-17 Postgraduate Representative on the Executive Committee of the Australian Political Studies Association.

  • Edited Books | 2015
    Wanna J; Lee H-A; Yates S, (eds.), 2015, Managing Under Austerity, Delivering Under Pressure, ANU Press, Canberra, http://dx.doi.org/10.22459/MUADUP.10.2015
  • Journal articles | 2023
    Dickinson H; Yates S, 2023, 'From external provision to technological outsourcing: lessons for public sector automation from the outsourcing literature', Public Management Review, vol. 25, pp. 243 - 261, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2021.1972681
    Journal articles | 2022
    Dickinson H; Yates S; Dodd S; Buick F; Doyle C, 2022, '"Most people don't like a client group that tell you to get fucked": Choice and control in Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme for formerly incarcerated people', PUBLIC POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09520767221134320
    Journal articles | 2022
    Dodd S; Doyle C; Dickinson H; Buick F; Yates S, 2022, 'The forgotten prisoners: Exploring the impact of imprisonment on people with disability in Australia', Criminology and Criminal Justice, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/17488958221120895
    Journal articles | 2022
    Doyle C; Yates S; Bartels L; Hopkins A; Taylor H, 2022, '‘If I don't get a job in six months' time, I can see myself being back in there’: Post-prison employment experiences of people in Canberra', Australian Journal of Social Issues, vol. 57, pp. 627 - 643, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.197
    Journal articles | 2022
    Doyle C; Yates S; Bartels L; Hopkins A; Taylor H, 2022, '‘Just a bunch of what ifs and unknowns’: The post-prison service provision experiences of people in Canberra, Australia', International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, vol. 70, pp. 100546 - 100546, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2022.100546
    Journal articles | 2022
    Doyle C; Yates S; Bartels L; Hopkins A; Taylor H, 2022, '“People say you’re going home, but I don’t have a home”: Housing After Prison', International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, pp. 306624X221132226, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0306624X221132226
    Journal articles | 2022
    Doyle C; Yates S; Hargrave J, 2022, 'Reflecting on the Value of Community Researchers in Criminal Justice Research Projects', Social Sciences, vol. 11, pp. 166 - 166, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/socsci11040166
    Journal articles | 2022
    McCandless S; Bishu SG; Gómez Hernández M; Paredes Eraso É; Sabharwal M; Santis EL; Yates S, 2022, 'A long road: Patterns and prospects for social equity, diversity, and inclusion in public administration', Public Administration, vol. 100, pp. 129 - 148, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/padm.12830
    Journal articles | 2022
    Smith C; Tani Bertuol M; Yates S; Dickinson H, 2022, 'Successful School Interventions for Students with Disability During Covid-19: Empirical Evidence from Australia', The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40299-022-00659-0
    Journal articles | 2022
    Steiner A; Farmer J; Yates S; Moran M; Carlisle K, 2022, 'How to systematically analyze co-production to inform future policies? Introducing 5Ws of co-production', Public Administration Review, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/puar.13571
    Journal articles | 2022
    Yates S; Carey G; Malbon E; Hargrave J, 2022, '‘Faceless monster, secret society’: Women's experiences navigating the administrative burden of Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme', Health and Social Care in the Community, vol. 30, pp. e2308 - e2317, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13669
    Journal articles | 2022
    Yates S; Dodd S; Doyle C; Buick F; Dickinson H, 2022, 'Where specialist and mainstream service systems collide: The National Disability Insurance Scheme in prisons', Australian Journal of Public Administration, vol. 81, pp. 611 - 628, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12555
    Journal articles | 2021
    Bovaird T; Loeffler E; Yates S; Van Ryzin G; Alford J, 2021, 'International survey evidence on user and community co-delivery of prevention activities relevant to public services and outcomes', Public Management Review, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2021.1991665
    Journal articles | 2021
    Stark A; Yates S, 2021, 'Public inquiries as procedural policy tools', Policy and Society, vol. 40, pp. 345 - 361, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14494035.2021.1955485
    Journal articles | 2021
    Tani Bertuol M; Dickinson H; Yates S; Smith C, 2021, 'The importance of social supports in education: Survey findings from students with disability and their families during COVID-19', Disability and Society, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2021.1994371
    Journal articles | 2021
    Yates S; Carey G; Hargrave J; Malbon E; Green C, 2021, 'Women’s experiences of accessing individualized disability supports: gender inequality and Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme', International Journal for Equity in Health, vol. 20, http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12939-021-01571-7
    Journal articles | 2021
    Yates S; Dickinson H, 2021, 'Navigating Complexity in a Global Pandemic: The Effects of COVID-19 on Children and Young People with Disability and Their Families in Australia', Public Administration Review, vol. 81, pp. 1192 - 1196, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/puar.13352
    Journal articles | 2021
    Yates S; Hartley J, 2021, 'Learning to lead with political astuteness', International Public Management Journal, vol. 24, pp. 562 - 583, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10967494.2021.1894281
    Journal articles | 2020
    Yates S, 2020, 'Gender, context and constraint: Framing family violence in Victoria', Women's Studies International Forum, vol. 78, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2019.102321
    Journal articles | 2020
    Yates S; Dickinson H; Smith C; Tani Bertuol M, 2020, 'Flexibility in individual funding schemes: How well did Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme support remote learning for students with disability during COVID-19?', Social Policy & Administration, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/spol.12670
    Journal articles | 2019
    Yates S, 2019, '“An exercise in careful diplomacy”: talking about alcohol, drugs and family violence', Policy Design and Practice, pp. 1 - 17, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/25741292.2019.1638697
    Journal articles | 2018
    Malbon E; Carson L; Yates S, 2018, 'What can policymakers learn from feminist strategies to combine contextualised evidence with advocacy?', Palgrave Communications, vol. 4, http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-018-0160-2
    Journal articles | 2018
    Yates S, 2018, 'Power, Process, Plumbing: Big G and Small g Gender in Victoria's Family Violence Policy Subsystem', Australian Journal of Public Administration, vol. 77, pp. 568 - 582, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12265
    Journal articles | 2017
    Alford J; Hartley J; Yates S; Hughes O, 2017, 'Into the Purple Zone: Deconstructing the Politics/Administration Distinction', American Review of Public Administration, vol. 47, pp. 752 - 763, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0275074016638481
    Journal articles | 2016
    Alford J; Yates S, 2016, 'Co-Production of Public Services in Australia: The Roles of Government Organisations and Co-Producers', Australian Journal of Public Administration, vol. 75, pp. 159 - 175, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12157
    Journal articles | 2015
    Hartley J; Alford J; Hughes O; Yates S, 2015, 'Public value and political astuteness in the work of public managers: The art of the possible', Public Administration, vol. 93, pp. 195 - 211, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/padm.12125
    Journal articles | 2014
    Alford J; Yates S, 2014, 'Mapping public value processes', International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 27, pp. 334 - 352, http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-04-2013-0054
  • Reports | 2022
    Dickinson H; Yates S; West R, 2022, Exercising meaningful choice and control in the NDIS: Why participants use unregistered providers, UNSW Canberra, Canberra, http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.30921.83046, https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/sites/default/files/documents/Research-report-on-NDIS-unregistered-providers.pdf
    Reports | 2022
    Doyle C; Dodd S; Dickinson H; Yates S; Buick F, 2022, ‘There’s not just a gap, there’s a chasm’: The boundaries between Australian disability services and prisons, Public Service Research Group, UNSW Canberra, Canberra, http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.21569.22883
    Reports | 2021
    Connor J; Williamson S; McDermott V; Yates S; Noack-Lundberg K; May K, 2021, Benchmarking Gender Equality in the Australian Defence Force, Department of Defence, Canberra
    Reports | 2021
    Dickinson H; Smith C; Yates S, 2021, Locked out: Vaccination discrimination for children and young people with disability, Children and Young People with Disability Australia, Melbourne, http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.15164.97922, https://www.cyda.org.au/resources/details/304/locked-out-vaccination-discrimination-for-children-and-young-people-with-disability
    Reports | 2021
    Dickinson H; Yates S; Smith C; Doyle A, 2021, Avoiding simple solutions to complex problems: Independent Assessments are not the way to a fairer NDIS, Children and Young People with Disability Australia, https://www.cyda.org.au/resources/details/278/avoiding-simple-solutions-to-complex-problems-independent-assessments-are-not-the-way-to-a-fairer-ndis-full-report
    Reports | 2021
    McDermott V; Williamson S; Connor J; Yates S; Williams J; Beacham L; May K, 2021, A Program Logic to Progress Gender Inclusion and Capability in the Australian Defence Force
    Reports | 2021
    Williamson S; Yates S; Connor J; McDermott V; May K, 2021, Progressing Gender Inclusion in the ADF
    Reports | 2020
    Dickinson H; Smith C; Yates S; Tani Bertuol M, 2020, Not even remotely fair: Experiences of students with disability during COVID-19, Children and Young People with Disability Australia, Melbourne, http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.34145.53605, https://cyda.org.au/resources/details/172/not-even-remotely-fair-experiences-of-students-with-disability-during-covid-19-full-report
    Reports | 2020
    Dickinson H; Yates S, 2020, More than isolated: The experience of children and young people with disability and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic, Children and Young People with Disability Australia, https://cyda.org.au/resources/details/161/more-than-isolated-the-experience-of-children-and-young-people-with-disability-and-their-families-during-the-covid-19-pandemic
    Theses / Dissertations | 2019
    Yates S, 2019, A critical frame analysis of Victoria's Royal Commission into Family Violence
    Reports | 2013
    Hartley J; Alford J; Hughes O; Yates S, 2013, Leading with political astuteness: A study of public managers in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, ANZSOG and the Chartered Management Institute, Melbourne, https://www.anzsog.edu.au/resource-library/research/leading-with-political-astuteness