ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part consists of seven policy case studies. The case study on policy and planning in community services discusses how a government organisation set out to change the way it operated and to change its relationship with non-government organisations. The case study on Aboriginal Education Policy highlights the political focus on accommodating state governments at the expense of the policy objectives for Aboriginal people. The case study on policy and planning in community services shows how a new government attempted to set up a collaborative and democratic policy process to develop a new approach to community services development, involving a wide range of players. All the case studies illustrate that there is a wide range of participants in policy development and implementation and, even more so, that policy development is a process of contest and negotiation.
