Alastair Stark

Dr. Alastair Stark serves as Associate Professor at the School of Political Science and International Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at The University of Queensland (UQ). As Director of the Graduate Centre in Governance and International Affairs, he combines academic leadership with public policy scholarship.

• Current research focuses on institutional amnesia in governance, policy learning mechanisms, and deliberative democracy applications to environmental policy
• Recipient of Mayer Prize (Australian Journal of Political Science) and Lasswell Prize (Policy Sciences)
• Principal investigator for Australian Research Council Discovery projects (2021-2025, 2018-2022)
• Active supervisor with current PhD projects on disaster recovery, institutional memory, and rapid evidence application

Research Interests
His work addresses three core areas: institutional memory in governance, crisis management through public inquiries, and deliberative democratic practices in policy-making. Recent articles explore Australian royal commissions, policy inaction dynamics, and post-pandemic governance responses.

Scientific Contributions

• Authored/edited 4 books including Risk and Crisis Management in the Public Sector (3rd ed, 2024) and Public Inquiries and Policy Design (2024)
• Published 27 journal articles across Public Administration, Policy Sciences, and Governance
• Developed analytical frameworks for policy adoption, crisis dramaturgy, and deliberative governance

Awards & Grants

• 2021-2025: ARC Discovery Project - Institutional Memory and Policy Processes
• 2018-2022: ARC Discovery Grant - Public Inquiries Implementation
• 2016-2019: ARC Discovery Grant - Social-Urban Planning Integration
• 2015: UQ Early Career Researcher Grant - Post-Crisis Policy Learning

Professional Involvement
Contributes to multiple research centers including the Graduate Centre in Governance and International Affairs. Participates in the Visual Politics Research Program and Visiting Researcher Program. Maintains active roles in policy evaluation and crisis management analysis.