HEATH PICKERING
Doctoral Researcher in Public Administration
About me
I am a Doctoral Researcher in Public Administration at the KU Leuven Public Governance Institute, Belgium.
I research the institutional development of ministers' offices in Westminster countries, with a special focus on the rise of ministerial advisers wedged between the nexus of politics and administration. My comparative research project includes case studies of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The project is funded by the Flanders Research Foundation (FWO).
Prior to moving to Brussels, I worked at the University of Melbourne for six years in several roles, including as a Government Relations Adviser in the Vice-Chancellor's Office, Social Media and Communications Officer in the Melbourne School of Government, and Teaching Associate in the School of Social and Political Sciences. In earlier roles, I worked as a TV Producer at Sky News Australia and spent a year supporting a foreign aid project in Solomon Islands.
Contact
email me at heath.pickering@kuleuven.be
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Profile on Google Scholar
Publications
Academic
Brenton, S., Pickering, H. 2020. Trustworthiness, Stability and Productivity of Minority Governments in Australia, Parliamentary Affairs, gsaa064
Brans, M., Pickering, H. 2020. Government ministers and their “Special Advisers", Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 30(3), 521–523.
Krajňák, S., Staronova, K., & Pickering, H. 2020. Ministerial Advisers in Slovakia: Profiles and Career Paths, 2010–2020, NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy, 13(2), 115-140.
Pickering, H., Brans, M., Gouglas, T. 2019. The institutionalisation of ministerial advisers in Westminster governments (1970-2019): a systematic review and thematic synthesis. Paper presented at the International Conference on Public Policy, 26-28 June. Montreal, Canada.
Publications in progress (with other co-authors)
The Prime Minister's Chief-of-Staff: a Profile from Westminster Countries
The Comparative Method in Ministerial Adviser Research
Systematic Literature Reviews: Opportunities and Limits in Ministerial Adviser research
Executive advisory and support offices: exploring the institutional architecture of ministers’ offices
Op-ed articles
Pickering, H 2020, Covid-19 to entrench 'big government' policies for good, 28 April, The Mandarin, Canberra
Pickering, H 2019, Why Canada has so many political advisers, 17 October, The Conversation, Toronto
Pickering, H 2018, Surviving Australian politics: 4 reforms to stop ousting leaders, 30 August, Pursuit, Melbourne
Pickering, H 2017, Australia’s Referendum Drought, 16 August, Pursuit, Melbourne
Pickering, H 2016, Three-year parliamentary terms are too short, 17 May, Huffington Post
Brenton, S and Pickering, H 2016, The Rise of LGBTIQ Politicians, 30 June, Election Watch, Melbourne
Pickering, H 2016, Brexit proves Baby Boomers should get less of a vote, 27 June, VICE
Pickering, H 2016, Give Permanent Residents the Vote, 22 June, SBS News, Sydney
Pickering, H 2016, Foreign aid fail: the ‘lucky country’ is selfish, 09 June, ABC The Drum, Sydney
Teaching
Teaching Assistant in the Public Governance Institute, KU Leuven, Belgium
(2021) Policy Analysis
(2019-20) Comparative Public Policy in Europe
Teaching Assistant at the University of Melbourne, Australia
(2017–18) Public Policy Making
(2017–18) Comparative Politics
(2018) Politics and the Media
(2015–17) International Politics