Accepting PhD Students

PhD projects

I am interested in working with students looking to improve public decision making, particularly as it relates to public sector practices for the achievement of sustainable development. I'm agnostic on policy domains, though have a background in environmental policy and regulation.

20132024

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Biography

A strategic and interdisciplinary thinker, Dr Mitzi Bolton is passionate about finding and facilitating solutions to entrenched problems. 

Mitzi is particularly interested in how systems leverage points can connect science and policy to assist the transition to more sustainable futures. In recent years, her research has focussed on the question of if and how AI might be applied in that transition. This focus sees her routinely collaborate across disciplines and sectors to produce truly transdisciplinary research.

Mitzi has a strong track record in public sector, industry and academic leadership. Her research is driven by the 12 years she spent in the Victorian and Australian public sectors, in which she held an array of leadership and policy roles across both technical and administrative functions.

Mitzi is currently an Academic Advisor to the National Steering Committee of the prestigious Australia and New Zealand School of Government National Regulators Community of Practice. She is also former Chair of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (Vic) Sustainability Community of Practice, and a former non-Executive Director of the Australasian Land and Groundwater Association Ltd Board.

Research Interests

  • Integrated decision-making and associated tools
  • Optimising public decision-making
  • Sustainable development

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
  • SDG 14 - Life Below Water
  • SDG 15 - Life on Land
  • SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals

Education/Academic qualification

Public Policy; Sustainable Development, PhD, Factors influencing public sector decisions and the achievement of sustainable development in the State of Victoria, Australia, Australian National University (ANU)

Oct 2014Mar 2020

Award Date: 31 Jul 2020

Law (Environmental Law), MComLaw, Monash University

Science (Botany, Ecology), BSc (Hons), Arsenic & Phosphorus: Bioavailability, Absorption, & Implications for Mine Site Stablisation, University of Melbourne

External positions

Academic Advisor – Early Career Researcher, National Regulators Community of Practice, National Steering Committee, Australia and New Zealand School of Government

2022 → …

Chair - Sustainability Community of Practice (Vic), Institute of Public Administration Australia (Victorian Division) Inc (IPAA)

20192022

Sustainable Remediation Interest Group, Australasian Land and Groundwater Association (ALGA) Limited

2018 → …

Research area keywords

  • Sustainable Development
  • SDGs
  • Public Policy
  • Public Administration
  • Integrated Decision Making
  • Governance
  • Regulation
  • Contaminated Environments

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or