title: New norms new policies: Did the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence scheme encourage new thinking about promoting well-being and Health in All Policies?
abstract: Health systems have long been criticised for focussing on curing rather than preventing disease. This paper examines to what extent the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence (ATiR) scheme contributed to the change in norms whereby promoting well-being and a strategy to achieve this - Health in All Policies (HiAP)--was adopted by the South Australian (SA) State Government from 2007. The data presented in this paper are drawn from a five year (2012-2016) detailed mixed methods case study of the SA HiAP initiative which involved document analysis, interviews and workshops with public servants and political actors. We adapt the framework used by Finnemore and Sikkink (1998) which explains how norm changes can lead to political changes in international affairs. We also use Kingdon's concept of policy entrepreneurs to determine whether these ideas moved to an implementable initiative with the help of both a specific ATiR program on HiAP and the broader TiR scheme which promoted a series of innovations relevant to health. The process involved the ATiR reinforcing the work of local norm entrepreneurs with that of powerful external policy entrepreneurs, adapting the discourse about the value of prevention and promoting well-being so that it fitted with the dominant economic one. The powerful organisational platform of the ATiR, which was under the Department of the Premier and Cabinet and linked to the South Australian Strategic Plan (SASP) was used to advance these ideas. The case study offers important lessons for other jurisdictions on how to shift policy to encourage intersectoral approaches to health.
authors.affiliation: Southgate Institute for Health Society and Equity, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia, Australia. Electronic address: fran.baum@flinders.edu.au.
authors.forename: Fran
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Baum
authors.affiliation: Southgate Institute for Health Society and Equity, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lawless
authors.affiliation: Southgate Institute for Health Society and Equity, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia, Australia; Discipline of Public Health, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: MacDougall
authors.affiliation: Southgate Institute for Health Society and Equity, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Toni
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Delany
authors.affiliation: The Poche Centre for Indigenous Health and Wellbeing, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McDermott
authors.affiliation: Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity, Level 3, AGSM Building, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: SA Health, Public Health and Clinical Systems, Department of Health and Ageing, Public Health Partnerships Branch, PO Box 287 Rundle Mall, Adelaide 5000, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Carmel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D014943:Global Health; D006076:Government; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D011050:Policy Making; D011635:Public Health Administration; D064890:Social Determinants of Health
keywords: Australia; Intersectoral action; Norm development; Policy; Policy entrepreneurs; Social determinants of health