Science in motion using research for impact

This article first appeared in the Spring 2015 edition of Fire Australia magazine. By Brenda Leahy, Communications Officer, AFAC

Using research has many strategic and operational benefits. New knowledge, concepts, insights or tools generated from research can identify and address gaps in thinking and performance, according to AFAC’s Manager of Research Utilisation, Dr Noreen Krusel. “We know that our industry is good at “doing” research,” says Dr Krusel. "The question is how good are we at using research? And how do we know?" she says.

Surveys by the former Bushfire CRC have provided some practical insights into how agencies are managing research utilisation, according to Dr Krusel. Another useful mechanism is written case studies. AFAC is publishing a series of cases dedicated to capturing the first-hand experiences of agencies using research and its impact. Extracts from the first two cases in the series are detailed in this article. Full cases can be downloaded on the research utilisation page of the AFAC website at www.afac.com.au/initiative/research.

“Given that we typically learn on-the-job, as well as from others in our workplaces and networks, case studies are a practical tool to help capture and share knowledge,” Dr Krusel says. “In these research utilisation cases, we asked the researchers and end-users from fire and land agencies, 'what elements or ingredients were present when research was being used effectively?'”

The agencies and researchers were also asked to identify the obstacles they encountered or anticipated in using or implementing the research findings, and describe how they overcame these barriers. They also reflected on what they believed to be the critical success factors for successful utilisation.

“From these insights, we are starting to get a picture of what’s involved for adoption and implementation to take place,” she says. "Basically, it’s about understanding what makes research adoptable and how organisations can adapt and maximise the use of knowledge from research.”

Dr Krusel said there are a number of stages from the initial idea, problem or opportunity to delivery of the research outputs and its transition or transfer to implementation by member agencies. At the same time there are several common ingredients for successful utilisation to occur.

“We know that there is no one-size-fits all recipe to make it work. We hope that these insights give agencies some clues as well as inspiration on how to gain traction with their own research utilisation efforts.”

Some of the common ingredients or elements of utilisation include:

• Collaboration - Strong relationships and engagement between end users, their agencies, AFAC, researchers and research organisations to ensure the research addresses clear needs or questions for the organisation or industry.
• Capacity and capability - An agency-wide approach for managing research and its outputs and/or a commitment to change or adapt practices to support the adoption and implementation of research findings.
• Products - Concepts, tools or frameworks that enable users to interpret or adapt the research for their contexts and needs.
• Culture - A commitment to identifying and addressing gaps in thinking and knowledge and supporting workplace learning.
• Context - A priority on interpreting and sense making of complex science for operations.
• Communication - Tailored communication initiatives, including professional development events, to foster active involvement and ownership, and to assist learning from the research outset to implementation.

Case study: Research utilisation partnership improves weather forecasting

This case study reveals how the Bureau of Meteorology used the findings of PhD research by Dr Mika Peace for the Bushfire CRC to enhance the capability of operational forecasters through its national learning and development program.

The case study describes the research and explains its transition into the Bureau’s forecasting operations via the national Bureau of Meteorology Training Centre. It also highlights the critical success factors in using and operationalising the research.

Partnering with the former Bushfire CRC, and now all-hazards focused Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, enabled the Bureau to capture and operationalise new and emerging science, according to the Bureau’s Fire Weather Training Program Manager Monica Long.

All of the Bureau’s internal training modules relating to forecasting for fire incidents reference relevant Bushfire CRC research, she says. These training modules will continue to be updated with the research outputs of the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, ensuring forecasters are up-to-date.

Critical success factors are:

• An organisational commitment to identify, address and anticipate knowledge gaps using research.
• A focus on cultivating and developing relationships with researchers to “stay ahead of the science”.
• A priority on interpreting complex science for operations.

“A critical success factor has been the Bureau’s relationship with the individual researcher, Dr Mika Peace, and the ongoing collaboration with the CRC. Due to this engagement, she could translate the research output directly into operations and tailor the content to the organisation’s specific capability and development needs for operational forecasting,"  says Monica Long, Fire Weather Training Program Manager Bureau of Meteorology. 

View this case study in full at www.afac.com.au/initiative/research.

Case study: How Tasmania Fire Service used evidence-based practice to develop shared responsibility for bushfire risk

The TFS Bushfire Ready Neighbourhoods Program in action at the Leslie Vale Field Day.

In this case study, the Tasmania Fire Service describes how it used research to custom build an approach for developing and growing shared responsibility for risk and resilience between the agency, at-risk communities and their householders.

The approach, which began as a conceptual model in a Bushfire CRC PhD research project in 2009, has since been embedded in TFS’s operations and rolled out to more 40 communities across the State as the Bushfire Ready Neighbourhoods program.

In 2014, it received State and National awards from the Australian Government for its contribution to promoting disaster resilient communities.

In this case study, TFS describes its critical success factors as:

• A clear need to improve its approach to community education
• A collaborative action-research method that built trust and shared understanding of the context.
• A commitment to re-engineer existing processes and practices to support implementation.

“We embarked on this journey knowing that there were, and continue to be barriers and challenges. We were talking about building a community’s capacity to be bushfire ready. Essentially, it is and continues to be about facilitated cultural change at an individual, agency and community level,” says Peter Middleton, Community Development Coordinator Tasmania Fire Service.

View this case study in full at www.afac.com.au/initiative/research.