In December 2023, it was announced that the Susan McKinnon Foundation (SMF) was partnering with the Analysis & Policy Observatory (APO) to ensure the vital public resource could continue operating. APO Director Brigid van Wanrooy explains who SMF are and their mission, why APO and SMF make a perfect match and introduces you to the new SMF Collection that showcases their work.
SMF is bringing integrity back
The Susan McKinnon Foundation (SMF) believes in competent, transparent and accountable government. They focus on projects aimed at enhancing the strength and effectiveness of Australia’s democracy and public administration. They are strictly non-partisan. SMF are doing all this with a clear vision in mind: for Australia to have the world’s most effective governments focused on the long-term interests of the community.
SMF was founded by Dr Sophie Oh and Grant Rule in 2015 to make a positive and enduring contribution to the Australian community. In 2022, SMF received significant funding following the sale of MessageMedia and is now Australia’s fifth largest philanthropic foundation by assets.
SMF’s three core streams of work are:
- Effective elected representatives – The McKinnon Institute for Political Leadership is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organisation that provides outstanding professional development for members of Australia’s federal, state and territory parliaments. The McKinnon Prize in Political Leadership (est. 2017) recognises political leaders at all levels of government who have driven positive impact through their vision, collaboration, courage and ethical behaviour.
- Robust state institutions – the focus here is on fostering accountability and transparency in government and policymaking to support more robust and fit-for-purpose institutions that can effectively respond to contemporary challenges
- Quality policy dialogue – SMF funds a range of research activities and institutes to improve the quality of the evidence and ideas that feed into policymaking, including many publishers featured on APO such as e61 Institute, Blueprint Institute, Centre for Public Integrity, and previously, the Evidence Based Policy Research Project.
A match made in policy heaven
It’s pretty obvious now, right?
APO champions open access and evidence-informed policymaking. We believe that the best way to improve societal outcomes is for the best available research evidence to be integrated into policy. And the best way to achieve evidence-informed policy is to make research and policy accessible through open access.
Personally, I was delighted when SMF agreed to partner with APO. I could not have hoped for a better match. And I am truly excited about what we will be able to achieve when we put our collective heads together!
The SMF Collection
To give you a better understanding of all SMF’s work, we have partnered with them to create the Susan McKinnon Foundation Collection. Showcasing policy and research resources on quality policy dialogue, enhancing service delivery and policy evaluation – all publications in the Collection have been funded and supported by SMF and produced by leading Australian researchers, think tanks and experts.
“The new SMF Collection enables us to share our research publications with a broader audience and strengthen the reach and impact of these resources”.
Grant Rule, Co-founder, Susan McKinnon Foundation
It shouldn’t be a surprise to know that many of these publications were already on APO. Namely, the ten case study publications produced for the Evidence Based Policy Research Project. And the bonus is that we now have all the latest SMF publications on APO and in the Collection, and going forward, we’ll continue to keep it up to date with their latest releases.
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