Young people who are either at risk of disengaging or disengaged from mainstream education in Ireland are often supported by what is termed 'out-of-school' or the 'alternative education' sector. A recent review of out-of-school education provision (Department of Education. 2022. "Review of Out-of-School Educational Provision." Dublin:…

There have been recent calls for a royal commission (RC) on the British National Health Service (NHS). This article focuses on the impact of RCs and similar advisory bodies, particularly on finance recommendations, of three inquiries with broad remits across the whole of the NHS from very different periods: Guillebaud (1956); Royal Commission on…

In Australia and Europe, government agencies and not-for-proft organisations (NFPOs) have had long involvement in the funding and provision of community disability services. Signifcant change has occurred in Australia over the past two decades in the way government funds are expended, with marketplace mechanisms increasingly being used. As a…

Health care has been an ongoing issue of public concern for decades, well before President Obama took office. Passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, in March 2010 and upheld by a Supreme Court in June 2012. With Republicans now in control of both the House and Senate as well as the presidency, the ACA in its current…

This annual report shows how fee and support systems (including grants and loans) work in higher education in Europe. It provides both a comparative overview of fees and financial support available to full-time students in 2017/18, and also includes individual country sheets outlining the main elements of national systems. In particular, the…

This report brings together research publicly released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) over the year. The 2017 compilation reflects an extensive collection of NCVER research activities undertaken during 2017, comprising reports, summaries, infographics, occasional papers, presentations and webinars. NCVER has…

The "Research messages" annual series presents a summary of the research-focused reports produced by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) each year. In addition to presenting the research reports published by NCVER during 2016, NCVER has expanded this edition to include other relevant and informative resources,…