Happy first birthday to us! That’s what we all will be saying on 1 July.
The day will also be significant for marking the end of the Bushfire CRC after 11 years of active research. Over the last year, the two CRCs have worked in tandem, sharing resources where possible and ensuring that the research outputs of the Bushfire CRC remain accessible and ready to be adopted by all our partners.
The two Boards have been in close cooperation during our establishment phase. The Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC acknowledges the good support from the Bushfire CRC Board and CEO Gary Morgan during this phase. The Bushfire CRC will continue with its formal administrative wind down until an Annual General Meeting later this year. However, for all practical purposes to its members and the public the Bushfire CRC will cease operation on 30 June.
Some areas of ongoing cooperation and transition include:
Website - The Bushfire CRC website, and the more than 1600 research outputs attached to it, will be maintained by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC. The web address will remain active and the site will be closely integrated with the new CRC’s website.
Social media - Activity for the Bushfire CRC (Facebook and Twitter) will be wound down with all followers urged to switch to the new CRC.
Staffing – Former Bushfire CRC employees Dr Richard Thornton, CEO, and David Bruce, Communications Manager, will be joined by Lyndsey Wright, who will continue her work in research and student management. Communications officers Vaia Smirneos and Nathan Maddock will also join the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC in similar roles to what they had in the Bushfire CRC.
Research Utilisation - Bushfire CRC Research Utilisation Manager Dr Noreen Krusel will continue in this role as an employee of AFAC, concentrating on developing the final outputs of the Bushfire CRC. She will be assisted by a new Communications Officer.
The Bushfire CRC’s extensive Research to Drive Change online seminar series on completed research will continue through to the end of the year through the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC and AFAC.