The Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG), in partnership with the Local Government Association of South Australia, is calling for papers for the 2013 Local Government Research Forum.
The Forum will be held at the University of Adelaide on 6th and 7th June. The closing date for abstracts is Friday March 1st 2013.
The Forum is a biennial event for local government researchers and practitioners to present current research in the sector and discuss the implications for policy and practice. The Forum will include streamed sessions and panel discussions on key local government issues.
ACELG Assistant Director Melissa Gibbs said, “This is an exceptional opportunity for researchers and practitioners to meet and exchange ideas on policy issues, themes and challenges facing Australian local government. We’ve had a terrific response to the call for papers for previous research forums and we’re expecting even greater interest in the upcoming forum.”
One of the conference themes will be on the value and validity of practitioner knowledge as research. This is an ongoing debate in the sector.
Dr Tim Robinson, ACELG Research and Advisory Committee member and Director at Fairfield City Council (NSW), said that, “We need different, although allied concepts for contextualising practitioner knowledge, and need to develop a language that helps to define its pedigree and the somewhat different claims it may wish to make around validity and reliability.”
The ACELG is keen to involve as many local government policy staff and early career researchers with an interest in local government as possible. An abstract of no more than 250 words should be sent by Friday 1st March to Stefanie Pillora, ACELG Program Manager Research: stefanie.pillora@acelg.org.au
Further updates on the event and registration information can be found at www.lgresearch.org.au
