The Centre · Research
Research
Understanding employment, practice and the systems that shape outcomes.
CDERP undertakes applied research on employment participation and the systems that support it. Our research examines the organisational, institutional and commissioning arrangements that reproduce persistent problems, and develops practical approaches to changing them.
Research purpose
Knowledge that can be put to use.
Much research on employment identifies barriers or documents poor outcomes. CDERP’s interest extends to why those outcomes persist: how policy settings, commissioning, accountability and organisational practice combine to reproduce them.
The research is applied. It is designed to inform professional practice, organisational development and the design of employment systems, and it is tested in practice wherever possible.
Research priorities
Five areas of inquiry.
Employment participation
How people find, keep and progress in work, and the conditions that make this more or less likely.
Employment systems and governance
How policy, commissioning and accountability arrangements shape provider behaviour and outcomes.
Quality and fidelity
Whether practice is delivered as intended, and how quality can be assessed and sustained.
Organisational capability
The workforce, leadership and organisational conditions that effective practice depends on.
Education-to-employment pathways
How education and training connect with employment opportunities and graduate transitions.
Current research and collaborations
Work in Australia and internationally.
STRIDE: high-fidelity Customised Employment in regional Australia.
In partnership with Devonfield Enterprises and funded through the Structural Adjustment Fund (DSS), STRIDE built a credentialed regional Customised Employment workforce, deployed the Centre's full suite of framework tools in live practice, and produced a published evidence base. It stands as one of the most complete demonstrations of what high-fidelity practice looks like, and a working reference for providers changing under the Inclusive Employment Australia transition.
Live engagements: Australian and international.
Workforce Australia · IEFF
The Integrative Employment Function Framework, developed as a candidate model for Workforce Australia's redesign, contributed through a service provider partner as the system moves beyond one-size-fits-all.
Inclusive Employment Australia
Direct work with NDIS employment providers redesigning practice under IEA: the Centre's framework tools put to work so capability holds, not just compliance.
Republic of Korea · MOEL / KEIS
A systems-comparison report and design guidance for Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor, benchmarking procurement and performance evaluation in employment services across Australia, the UK and Sweden, delivered with Asuria.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia · First Job Guarantee
Invited expert contribution to the Global Labour Market Conference 2026 (Riyadh) on the design of a national First Job Guarantee framework, with an architecture test in development with local partners.
UN Tourism · Graduate Employability
Commissioned by UN Tourism to develop an international publication examining how tourism education connects with employment opportunities. Drawing on Member State evidence and international research, the work develops an assessment framework and practical recommendations for strengthening graduate transitions, workforce inclusion and education–industry collaboration.
Working through a change of your own?
Provider redesign under Inclusive Employment Australia, a fidelity audit, an evaluation, or research with the Centre. Tell us where the pressure is and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right call.
Applied research
Commissioned research.
CDERP undertakes independent research, evaluation and policy analysis for governments, international organisations and service providers. Our work investigates how employment and workforce systems function, how institutions interact and how participation outcomes can be improved.
Featured international commission · 2026
UN Tourism
Connecting Tourism Graduates with Employment Opportunities
An international investigation of the relationships between tourism education, employers and employment systems, drawing on contributions from Member States and other stakeholders.
The project develops a practical framework for understanding institutional coordination, assessing system maturity and strengthening graduate transitions into employment.
International comparative research
Research substantially completed. Publication subject to commissioning organisation approval.
Research publications
Where the research is published.
CDERP research appears in peer-reviewed journals, books and the Centre’s own position papers. The most recent is Governing the Moving Maze (October 2026).
This body of work is directed by Dr Peter Smith, who came to research from frontline practice and has led the Centre for fifteen years.
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