Dr Luke Craven
Senior Consultant - Systems Practice
Bachelor of Arts (Hons) (Political Science) | Doctor of Philosophy (Political Science)
  • Bio
  • Recent projects
  • Qualifications
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Luke is a systems practitioner, whose work focuses on developing new tools to understand and address complex policy challenges. He works closely with a range of organisations to adapt and apply systems frameworks to support policy design, implementation and evaluation. He has advised on and implemented major systems change efforts across a range of government services and topics, including economic development and planning, employment, agriculture and food policy, education, taxation, and social welfare.
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​Luke is known for developing the System Effects methodology, which is widely used to analyse complex causal relationships in participatory and qualitative data. He is also a Strategic Advisor to the team at Kumu, a systems mapping platform that gives decision makers the tools to track, visualise and leverage relationships to overcome their toughest obstacles. 
 
Prior employment
Luke was previously a Lecturer in Public Sector Management at UNSW Canberra, and a Lead Researcher with FoodLab Sydney, a food business incubator that assists diverse populations in the development of new food businesses, creating new economic development opportunities, empowering individuals and communities, and expanding inclusion in the food system. ​
Luke’s recent projects include:
  • Working with the Norwegian Labour and Welfare to apply the System Effects methodology to investigate the barriers to job market entry in Oslo, Norway, and use this data to tailor services and target responses in a way that better meets the complex needs of their client population. 
  • Working with the NSW Office of Emergency Management and Resilient Sydney to develop and implement a complex systems framework to guide policy, program, and resourcing interventions to promote resilience in Metropolitan Sydney.
  • Consulting with USAID and the International Livestock Research Institute to develop and implement policies to prevent food-borne disease in Cambodia.
  • Developing a monitoring and evaluation framework for FoodLab Sydney.
  • Working with Asthma Australia to design a new place-based framework to inform the design of policy and programs to address chronic disease.
Qualifications
​​Luke has an undergraduate degree and PhD in political science from the University of Sydney. His doctoral research developed a set of innovative theoretical tools to understand and address the determinants of household food insecurity in first world urban contexts.