Our projects
The Centre and its members partner with individuals, companies, governments and not-for-profits as a trusted and proven collaborator in all matters related to advancement of ideas, policies and processes that can enhance decent work, productivity, well-being, sustainable business outcomes and community benefits.
The Centre for Workforce Futures aims to be the institution of choice for research into all matters of Decent Work in Australia.
What happens in our local workplaces is linked to national and global trends. Our society and our economy depend on getting the balance right between people, profits and public good. We are here to help them understand the complexity of their challenges as the world around us changes to new ways of thinking and new ways of working.
Today's employers, employees, workplace regulators and legislators face very complex workforce challenges. To achieve the best outcomes for individuals, organisations and the economy they need to understand and address a variety of critical issues affecting employee engagement and productivity.
These issues include:
- Automation and digital disruption
- Climate Change and work
- Diversity and inclusion
- Employment and participation in work
- Incomes policy and social goals
- Industrial and Employment Relations
- Inter-generational Change
- New Forms of Work Organisation
- Profits and Shared Value Creation
- Regulation and the workplace
- Supply Chains and globalisation
- Workers Capital/Superannuation
- Workers’ health
- Workforce Planning in a changing world
The Centre For Workforce Futures has conducted numerous projects since its establishment in 2011 to address such issues. In 2019, its members are undertaking Australian Research Council-funded projects, and government- and industry-funded projects, and it has signed partnership agreements with a number of external organisations.
Please see below for past and current projects.
New projects 2021
| Project Name | Project Members | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Future of Work @ Macquarie University | Researchers: Professor Lucy Taksa, Yvette Blount, Jean-Philippe Deranty, Troy Sarina (Centre for Workforce Futures, Macquarie University). | Funded by Macquarie University ($70,000). |
Continuing projects 2021
| Name | Members | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Demographic and social dimensions of migrant ageing and wellbeing in Australia | Researchers: Professor Lucy Taksa (Lead Chief Investigator, CWF), Professor Guo (MBS), Professor Max Tani and A/Professor Zhiming Cheng (UNSW) Partner Investigators: Lihua Liu (USC, USA) and Klaus Zimmerman (GLO) | Funded by Australian Research Council Discovery Scheme $478,000. |
| Continuity and change in the Australian industrial landscape | Researchers: Professor Lucy Taksa (CWF, MBS), and CWF Associate Members at University of Wollongong: Professor Chris Gibson, Lead Chief Investigator, Dr Chantel Carr and Dr Andrew Warren Partner Investigator: Professor Steven High (Concordia University Canada) | Funded by Australian Research Council Discovery Scheme (UOW Administering Organisation) $376,874. |
| A history of Australian businesswomen since 1880 | Researcher: Dr Catherine Bishop Mentor: Professor Lucy Taksa | Funded by the Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Award Scheme $396,828. |
| Corporate Women’s representation in Australian and Chilean business elites, 2000–2019 | Researchers: Professor Erica Salvaj (UDD Santiago and CWF Member of International Scholarly Advisory Committee) and Professor Lucy Taksa | Funded by an Australia-APEC Women’s Fellowship $19,000 (to support the visit to CWF and collaboration). |
| Identifying, measuring and developing future skills: an interdisciplinary modeling assessing the impact of organizational transformations due to digital technologies and artificial intelligence on employment systems | Lead CI: Professor Tania Saba (Montreal University and CWF Associate Member) Research Team CIs: Félix Ballesteros-Leiva (Laval University), Marie-Thérèse Chicha (University of Montreal), Nolywé Delannon (Laval University), Julie Dextras-Gauthier (Laval University), Marie-Eve Dufour (Université Laval), Jaya Nalakantan (Dawson College), Laurent Ruhlmann (Dawson College), Suzanne Bruyère (Cornell University), Eddy Ng (Bucknell University USA and CWF Associate Member), Mustafa F. Ozbilgin (Brunel Business School and CWF International Scholarly Advisory Committee) and Professor Lucy Taksa (CWF, Macquarie Business School) | Quebec Research Fund Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technologies (OBVIA) (CAD 160,000) |
| History, heritage and environmental change in a deindustrialised landscape | Researchers: Professor Lucy Taksa (CWF, MBS), MQ Arts Faculty and CWF Across MQ Members A/Professor Tanya Evans (Lead Chief Investigator) and Associate Professor Shawn Ross, Dr Susan Lupack (MQ Arts Faculty), Dr Penelope Crook (La Trobe University) Partner Investigators: Professor Steven High (Concordia University Canada), Ms Fiona Leslie (MTS HERITAGE), Dr Rebecca Parkes (Lantern Heritage Pty Ltd) Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute Ltd, National Parks & Wildlife Service | Funded by Australian Research Council Linkage Scheme, 2020–2022 $150,000 |
| Future Ports 2050 | Researchers: Professor Daryll Hull, Professor Norma Harrison, Peter Creeden (CWF Honorary Adjunct Fellow) | |
| COVID-19 crisis triggers teleworking: A global cure or a short-term solution? | International Lead Investigator: Prof Tania Saba (Montreal University Canada) with co-investigators Dr Gaëlle Cachat-Rosset (Montreal University Canada), Dr Josianne Marsan (Laval University Canada), Prof Alain Klarsfeld and A/Prof Kevin Carillo (Toulouse Business School
France), Prof. Mustafa Ozbilgin (Brunel Business School), Prof Eddy Ng (Bucknell University USA) Australian Lead Investigator: Prof Lucy Taksa (Macquarie University) with co-investigators A/Prof Yvette Blount, A/Prof Nikki Balnave and Dr Nour Dados (Macquarie University) | This comparative international study aims to analyse the way people are adapting to new ways of working during the COVID-19 pandemic. It involves a survey that is aiming to analyse the way people are adapting to teleworking and to using digital tools while working from home during the COVID pandemic. |
New projects 2020
| Project Name | Project Members | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Continuity and change in the Australian industrial landscape | Researchers: Professor Lucy Taksa (CWF, MBS), and CWF Associate Members at University of Wollongong: Professor Chris Gibson, Lead Chief Investigator, Dr Chantel Carr and Dr Andrew Warren Partner Investigator: Professor Steven High (Concordia University Canada) | Funded by Australian Research Council Discovery Scheme (UOW Administering Organisation) $376,874. |
| Identifying, measuring and developing future skills: an interdisciplinary modeling assessing the impact of organizational transformations due to digital technologies and artificial intelligence on employment systems | Lead CI: Professor Tania Saba (Montreal University and CWF Associate Member) Research Team CIs: Félix Ballesteros-Leiva (Laval University), Marie-Thérèse Chicha (University of Montreal), Nolywé Delannon (Laval University), Julie Dextras-Gauthier (Laval University), Marie-Eve Dufour (Université Laval), Jaya Nalakantan (Dawson College), Laurent Ruhlmann (Dawson College), Suzanne Bruyère (Cornell University), Eddy Ng (Bucknell University USA and CWF Associate Member), Mustafa F. Ozbilgin (Brunel Business School and CWF International Scholarly Advisory Committee) and Professor Lucy Taksa (CWF, Macquarie Business School) | Quebec Research Fund Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technologies (OBVIA) (CAD 160,000) |
| Research to Support the Aims of the Aged Care Industry | Researchers: Dr Sunil Badami, Professor Lucy Taksa and Dr Nour Dados | Funded by SkillsIQ $77,000. |
| History, heritage and environmental change in a deindustrialised landscape | Researchers: Professor Lucy Taksa (CWF, MBS), MQ Arts Faculty and CWF Across MQ Members A/Professor Tanya Evans (Lead Chief Investigator) and Associate Professor Shawn Ross, Dr Susan Lupack (MQ Arts Faculty), Dr Penelope Crook (La Trobe University) Partner Investigators: Professor Steven High (Concordia University Canada), Ms Fiona Leslie (MTS HERITAGE), Dr Rebecca Parkes (Lantern Heritage Pty Ltd) Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute Ltd, National Parks & Wildlife Service | Funded by Australian Research Council Linkage Scheme, 2020–2022 $150,000 |
| Future Ports 2050 | Researchers: Professor Daryll Hull, Professor Norma Harrison, Peter Creeden (CWF Honorary Adjunct Fellow) | |
| COVID-19 crisis triggers teleworking: A global cure or a short-term solution? | International Lead Investigator: Prof Tania Saba (Montreal University Canada) with co-investigators Dr Gaëlle Cachat-Rosset (Montreal University Canada), Dr Josianne Marsan (Laval University Canada), Prof Alain Klarsfeld and A/Prof Kevin Carillo (Toulouse Business School
France), Prof. Mustafa Ozbilgin (Brunel Business School), Prof Eddy Ng (Bucknell University USA) Australian Lead Investigator: Prof Lucy Taksa (Macquarie University) with co-investigators A/Prof Yvette Blount, A/Prof Nikki Balnave and Dr Nour Dados (Macquarie University) | This comparative international study aims to analyse the way people are adapting to new ways of working during the COVID-19 pandemic. It involves a survey that is aiming to analyse the way people are adapting to teleworking and to using digital tools while working from home during the COVID pandemic. |
New projects 2019
The Centre For Workforce Futures has numerous projects commencing in 2019.
We are extremely pleased to announce that the Centre's members were successful in obtaining Australian Research Council grants to support their research. Two ARC-funded projects are located in the Centre — one Discovery grant and one Discovery Early Career Award. Two other Discovery grants have been obtained by members in the Arts Faculty at Macquarie University.
Projects Located in Centre for Workforce Futures
| Project Name | Project Members | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate Women’s representation in Australian and Chilean business elites, 2000–2019 | Erica Salvaj, Lucy Taksa | Australia-APEC Women in Research Fellowship awarded to Associate Professor Erica Salvaj (UDD Chile & CWF International Scholarly Advisory Committee Member) sponsored by Professor Lucy Taksa. This fellowship will fund Associate Professor Salvaj to visit the Centre between 20 December 2019–1 March 2020. |
| Biomedical engineering workforce | Chief Investigators (CIs): L. Taksa, D. Hull, F. Guo, S. Kalfa, R. Appleyard, D. Turner. | This project (with the SAX Institute and NSW Ministry of Health) investigates the biomedical engineering workforce in order to identify strategies and opportunities for the development of the biomedical engineering workforce to ensure supply is in line with NSW Health service demands now and into the future. |
| Demographic and social dimensions of migrant ageing and wellbeing in Australia (funded by Australian Research Council Discovery Scheme) | Chief Investigators (CIs): Fei Guo, Lucy Taksa, Zhiming Cheng, Massimiliano Tani Partner Investigators: Lihua Liu (University of Southern California) and Klaus Zimmermann (Bonn University) | This project aims to examine the deterioration of health and wellbeing in migrant communities in Australia over time. Some migrant groups suffer higher mortality and morbidity in older age, despite having better health than non-migrants upon arrival in the host country. By consolidating and analysing a wide range of quantitative data and conducting qualitative fieldwork among ten migrant groups in Australia, the project aims to produce new estimates of healthy life expectancy and investigate how social capital sustains health throughout the ageing process. The project will inform government policymakers, migrant aged care service providers, and migrant communities in supporting quality of life outcomes. |
| A history of Australian businesswomen since 1880 (funded by Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Award Scheme) | Chief Investigator: Catherine Bishop Mentor: Lucy Taksa | This project aims to produce a substantive history of Australian female small business owners since 1880. It will introduce new methodologies and directions to business and feminist history and engage in global conversations about historical female entrepreneurship. The project seeks to provide new knowledge about the gendered nature of economic, legal and networking structures and how they have impeded or supported female participation in small business; it will trace representations of businesswomen over time. The project expects to enable broader, socially-embedded and historically-informed understandings of how gender has operated in business, and contribute to current debates about gender, diversity and small business. |
| Employee Engagement at Port of Newcastle | Daryll Hull | Professor Daryll Hull will undertake a whole-of-organisation engagement study with the Port of Newcastle starting in February 2019. This follows the signing of a 5-year collaboration agreement with the Centre. This is the initial project under that agreement. It will be based on narrative research methods developed over the past 4 years and successfully applied in other organisations. The outcome will be a clear view of the Port organisation and its work culture, leading to further research into possible strategies for workforce development. |
| Australian Maritime College (AMC) collaboration on new technologies | Daryll Hull | Under the recently signed collaboration agreement between the Centre and the College a series of projects will commence. The first of these is a coordinated review of the use application of drone technology in ports and shipping. This will involve the Centre, AMC and at least one national shipping company. Professor Daryll Hull will lead this work on behalf of the Centre. |
| Fair Work Commission living database | Daryll Hull, Anna Booth, Nour Dados | Work will be undertaken on the creation of a “living database” for all knowledge concerning what has been termed “new approaches” in collective bargaining in Australia. This project combines the efforts of Fair Work Australia, the Centre and various industrial organisations. It will be based at the Centre, and will be accessible and open to researchers across the campus and beyond. It will contain both current and historical information. Professor Daryll Hull and Deputy President Anna Booth of the Fair Work Commission will co-design the database. Preliminary research has been undertaken by Dr Nour Dados, Post Doc Fellow in the Centre. |
| Skills Verification with QTAC | Daryll Hull | The Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) and the Centre plus industry partners will undertake a pilot study in skills verification software subject to negotiation for a beta site in Queensland, on the ground in a major transport company. The project was outlined in the Lighthouse News in December 2018. Professor Daryll Hull is facilitating a network of partners during 2019 to bring this project to fruition in 2020. |
| Social Business Incubation (SBI) | Daryll Hull, Graham West, Mauricio Marrone | The Enterprise Partnership Agreement between the Centre and the Saint Vincent de Paul Society (SVDP) has finished the first stage — development of a business case to roll out a new form of business start-up support in regional NSW. Termed Social Business Incubation (SBI), it proposes a blend of commercial business incubation and social enterprise. During 2019 the business case will be marketed to SVDP philanthropy networks and to Government. The project is designed to run for 5 years and will seek an investment of $14 million. The Centre will provide monitoring and evaluation of the project over the 5 years. The project is under the supervision of Professor Daryll Hull, with the support and leadership of The Hon Graham West (Honorary Fellow of the Centre). Dr Mauricio Marrone from the Faculty of Business and Economics (now Macquarie Business School) was also engaged in the business case preparation. |
| Future Ports 2050 | Chief Investigators (CIs):
Collaborative Investigator:
| In the past decade there has been unprecedented global corporate and technological shifts in the maritime sector. Work in Australian ports and beyond is fundamentally and directly affected by these changes. Work organisation and skills, knowledge and capabilities are being transformed beyond recognition. As international companies merge and reform themselves, and re-create themselves as supply chain operators rather than dedicated shipping, stevedoring or logistics groups, the impact on the nature and direction of work itself in these areas is overwhelming. The next two decades will be a tipping point for workforce development, skills and job design. To address these issues a research consortium is being created to address, along with industry stakeholders, two key questions:
In October 2019, the Centre held a half day workshop, 'Research Themes at 2020', at Macquarie University to discuss and debate potential relevant port sector research themes for HDR students to consider when undertaking a Masters of Research or a PhD within the Program. |
| Future Skills in Rail Engineering | Daryll Hull | The National Office of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) and the University will seek support from experts in the field, from employers and from Government at all levels to co-design and implement a new learning pathway for rail engineering skills. A Scoping Paper will be produced during early 2020 for discussion and adoption by all interested parties. Given the present (and growing) interest in rail engineering from several stakeholders in the rail sector, it is proposed that we explore the idea of a single integrated learning and certification pathway in rail track engineering from the track to university, linked and seamless from Certificate 1 through to Higher Degrees. This pathway is to be open to members who join it from jobs in track building and maintenance, to university graduates who join the railways direct from their time in higher education. The focus is to be on a balance between practical on-the-job learning, local understanding of conditions, and a decent amount of theory to underpin the practice. |
| Producing Knowledge in Precarity: Research, Universities and Labour Insecurity | Chief Investigator: Nour Dados Mentor: Lucy Taksa | This project investigates how employment insecurity affects the creation of new knowledge at universities. It seeks to understand the impact of insecure employment (casual and fixed-term) on professional identity formation, intellectual labour process and the creation of research-based knowledge among academic workers. The research will examine the personal, social and institutional dimensions of undertaking research-based knowledge work and contribute to a better understanding of the experience of knowledge producers in insecure work. |
Members’ Projects — External to Centre
| Project Name | Project Members | Description |
|---|---|---|
| The case for work | Chief Investigator: Professor Jean-Philippe Deranty | This project aims to make a substantial contribution to theoretical debates about the future of work. There is growing concern that technological advances will lead to a crisis of work in the near future and challenge the idea that work is central to social inclusion and personal development. This project will systematically map out and respond to the arguments against the centrality of work. The expected outcome is a significant reduction in complexity regarding fundamental assumptions in debates on future work. The project will aim to advance the national conversation on a crucial issue of social and economic policy. |
| Challenging the Bystander Effect via documentary film | Chief Investigator: Kathryn Millard | This project aims to challenge the Bystander Effect. Social experiments from the 1960s have entrenched the view that in groups we fail to act to prevent harm to others in public emergencies. Film has played a significant role in promoting this theory. Drawing on an innovative screen performance method, this project is likely to generate knowledge about how bystanders can co-ordinate their actions to safely intervene; it will result in an innovative and accessible documentary. The project has the capacity to contribute to a reduction of violence in public spaces and more effective responses in the face of emergencies. |
| Communicating with people who have limited English proficiency | Chief Investigator: Professor Ingrid Piller | This sociolinguistic project aims to investigate how fluent English speakers interact with people who have limited proficiency. In contemporary Australia such mundane interactions may determine employment, education or health outcomes. While research into language barriers has mostly focused on the experiences of migrants from non-English-speaking backgrounds, this project will investigate how English speakers deal with increasing linguistic diversity. Expected outcomes include an understanding of the role of majority members in facilitating the integration of newcomers. This will provide significant socioeconomic benefits for institutions and individuals as they navigate everyday intercultural communication. |
Research projects 2011–2018
| Year(s) | Project name | Staff Members | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2017 | Affinities in Multicultural Australia | Lucy Taksa, Ellie Vasta and Fei Guo | Australian Research Council Discovery Grant DP140100424 ($230,000) |
| 2015–2016 | Web-based Analytical Platform for China Datasets | Fei Guo and Zhiming Cheng | Macquarie University Research Infrastructure Scheme Grant ($150,000) |
| 2015 | Analyses of Historical Patterns of Schooling, Religion, and Socio-demographics of Australia’s Population and Creation of Public Access Databases | Nick Parr, Lucy Taksa and Nikki Balnave | Catholic Education Commission ($49,706) and Macquarie University Enterprise Partnerships Scheme Pilot Research Grant ($49,706) |
| 2016 | Analyses of Historical Patterns of Schooling, Religion, and Socio-demographics of Australia’s Population and Creation of Public Access Databases | Nick Parr, Lucy Taksa and Nikki Balnave | Catholic Education Commission ($70,000) to extend research on the project entitled |
| 2016– | Web-based Analytical Platform Hosting China’s Labour Market, Migration, Household and Demographic Dynamics Survey Datasets | CIs: Fei Guo and Zhiming Cheng | A Macquarie University Strategic Infrastructure Scheme grant ($150,000). The platform structure has been built and is currently hosting a number of survey datasets on China’s labour market, migration, employment and demographics in a test environment. An online analytic tool is also available that allows users to generate descriptive results of the data without downloading the original datasets. A further refinement of the platform with on-going IT support is needed to enable the full functionality of the platform. |
| 2017 | Analyses of Historical Patterns of Schooling, Religion, and Socio-demographics of Australia’s Population and Creation of Public Access Databases | Nick Parr, Lucy Taksa and Nikki Balnave | Catholic Education Commission ($50,000) to extend research on the project entitled |
| 2018 | Enabling longitudinal research on Religion, Education and Population in NSW through a Public Access Database | Nick Parr, Lucy Taksa and Nikki Balnave | Macquarie University Small Research Infrastructure Scheme ($69,626) and Faculty of Business and Economics (now Macquarie Business School) ($15,000) |
| 2018 | 'Diversity in the Workforce' multi-country survey | Lucy Taksa | The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris-Dauphine University, Australian Human Resource Institute (AHRI) and Centre for Workforce Futures, Macquarie University |
| A National Portable Long Service Leave Scheme |
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| Superannuation Regulation and Fund Performance |
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| Organising Works 20th Anniversary | |||
| Impact of NSW Workers Compensation Legislation 2012 | |||
| Australia Anywhere Working (Telework) Research Network | |||
| Workforce Futures and Climate Change Project |
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| Effectiveness of procurement regulation |
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| Supply Chains and Aviation Safety |
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| Population Challenges for the Local Court of New South Wales |
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| Employee Voice in Australia |
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