Robyn Keast

Biography

Robyn Keast is Professor in Southern Cross Business School and the former Chair of the Collaborative Research Network: Policy and Planning for Regional Sustainability. She has an extensive research portfolio, covering as examples - governance, government/community relations, social and public policy, police-corruption, interest-based negotiation and asset management. She is internationally recognised for her research on networked arrangements and collaborative practice, where she has published extensively and translated her research into practice-based tools, including a Collaboration Decision Support Tool, and 15 Fact Sheets on Collaborative Practice for the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Young People, recently adapted for the agricultural sector.

Research

Her current work draws from these academic/industry experiences and focuses intra-organisational and cross-sectoral research collaboration, including required expertise and skills, collaborative sustainability, the cost of collaboration, the role of emotions in collaborative research and policy issues.

Recent research projects include;

• Reducing Youth Unemployment Through Social Procurement in Construction (ARC Linkage)
• Examination of the Etymology and History of Collaboration
• Social Network Analysis: Farming Together Program: Social Network Analysis Evaluation Farm Consultants and Farmer Group Collaboration; Stakeholder Engagement and Services Integration: Social Network Analysis Royal Flying Doctors Service Qld Division; Coalition of the Aging (Qld)
• First Year Student Retention: Socio-ecological networked model
• Integrated Social Services - Health Care, Homelessness, Place-based community development
• Dark Networks (corruption and organised crime)
• Asset & Infrastructure –Connected management/leadership & capability maturity models, including development of Strategic Asset Management Framework (Qld Government)
• Social Services Futures – effects of sectoral & organisational transformations

Community engagement

Robyn holds wide-ranging experience in working with government, industry and community groups, having led numerous research projects in social services integration, chaired the Collaborative Research Network: Policy and Planning for Regional Sustainability, as well as had leadership roles with several hard-infrastructure projects, including the Strategic HR Program within the Cooperative Research Centre for Integrated Engineering Asset Management, the Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation, and Research Director for the Airport Metropolis Project, an Australian Research Council project involving five universities [national and international], four airports, and five government partners.

Other

Prior to her academic career Robyn had over 30 years’ experience in the Queensland government and not-for-profit sectors in Australian as well as in both sectors internationally. She continues her involvement through her role as Social Policy Whisperer for the Power to Persuade Movement, mentoring several community-based organisations and regularly contributes to government policy and practice.