Behavioural evidence for policy futures.
I’m a researcher at the University of Queensland’s Centre for Policy Futures. I help government and industry partners prepare for how work and society are changing. That means designing research that answers their questions, testing policy options against what might come next, and helping public servants use evidence in their own work.
About
I’ve spent my career moving between research and government. I’ve worked in university research centres at the London School of Economics and BehaviourWorks Australia. Inside government, I was the inaugural manager of the Behavioural Economics and Research Team in the Queensland Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the state’s first central agency behavioural insights unit. That experience shapes how I work: I begin with the problem a partner needs to solve, and bring in whichever theories and methods help answer it.
I now lead the Work Futures and Economic Security theme at the Centre for Policy Futures. I hold a PhD in Psychology from The University of Queensland.
Research
My current projects look at what helps people find and keep good work, and how public servants learn from each other.
Work Futures and Economic Security
Attraction and retention in civil construction
What draws people into civil construction, and what makes them stay?
A study of the factors that attract workers to the industry and keep them there, to inform workforce policy.Flexible work in the care sector
What helps care organisations offer flexible work their staff can actually use?
A study of what helps and hinders care organisations in putting flexible work arrangements into practice.Supporting work-integrated social enterprises
Does a new government approach to supporting social enterprises work?
An evaluation of a new way of supporting work-integrated social enterprises, which provide jobs and training for people who face barriers to work.
Learning in government
- Practitioner-led learning in the Australian Public Service
How do public servants learn from each other’s experience on the job?
Research on how APS staff share what they know through their own practice, and how agencies can support that.
Selected publications
- Killen, C. P., Naeni, L. M., Salehipour, A., Bragge, P., Tear, M., Weir, T., Rowe, C., & Tay, N. (2026). Mitigating valuation bias in defence investment portfolio decisions: Recommendations from a multidisciplinary review. Defense and Security Analysis, 42(1), 167–199. doi.org/10.1080/14751798.2025.2535039
- Borg, K., Faulkner, N., Slattery, P., & Tear, M. J. (2024). Understanding and changing community attitudes toward vulnerable families. Family and Community Health, 47(1), 66–79. doi.org/10.1097/fch.0000000000000373
- Tear, M., Kunstler, B., Wild, A., & Wright, B. (2023). Toolkit for scaling social innovations. Monash University. UQ eSpace
- Ghafoori, E., Mata, F., Faulkner, N., & Tear, M. J. (2023). Measuring risk culture in finance: Development of a comprehensive measure. Journal of Banking and Finance, 148, 106720. doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2022.106720
- Tear, M. J., & Reader, T. W. (2022). Understanding safety culture and safety citizenship through the lens of social identity theory. Safety Science, 158, 105993. doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2022.105993
- MacLennan, M., Tear, M., Reader, T., et al. (2020). Behavioural insights and organisations: Fostering safety culture. OECD Publishing. doi.org/10.1787/e6ef217d-en
- Tear, M. J., Reader, T. W., Shorrock, S., & Kirwan, B. (2020). Safety culture and power: Interactions between perceptions of safety culture, organisational hierarchy, and national culture. Safety Science, 121, 550–561. doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2018.10.014
Full list: Google Scholar.
Contact
Get in touch to talk about research partnerships, evaluations, briefings or PhD supervision.
Email: m.tear@uq.edu.au