Natural hazards research to 2021

The full research program of the CRC has been reviewed and renewed to take it through to the end of the current funding in 2021.

After extensive consultation and discussion between partner organisations, researchers and other interested groups since the start of this year, the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Board approved in its July meeting the shape of the new “refreshed” research program.

Some of the current projects will continue with a renewed mandate to explore further research questions, some projects will focus on transferring findings into utilisation opportunities for our partners, while several new projects will add new dimensions to the overall program.

These new projects include research into diversity in the emergency management sector, planning for catastrophic and cascading events, and land use planning. Expressions of interest will be called for soon.

Project plans will be developed between now and October 31 2016 to define the work to be carried out from July 1 2017 through to June 30 2021.

Around 10 projects in the current program will soon complete their research phase, so will then transition to a focus on opportunities for utilisation.

This refresh of the research is a refinement of the program to ensure the work is contributing to a more disaster resilient Australia, and meeting the needs of Australia’s emergency management organisations and the community.

Late last year, given recent changes in the emergency management sector, both in Australia and internationally, the Board thought it prudent to do a pulse check to ensure that the original aims of the CRC were still in focus, that the research program was consistent with the outcomes of several state-level reviews and that resources were being allocated to the areas of most need.

Over recent months the CRC refresh process has looked like this:

• Due diligence has been conducted on the current program to see how it measures up for research quality and utilisation potential.
• The broad industry (current partners and the wider sector, including the private sector) has been consulted through national workshops and surveys to define a national agenda for natural hazards research.
• All end user partners have been asked to prioritise areas for future research.
• The CRC is now working with the current research teams and end-users in the first instance, and the wider research and end-user sector if required, to develop detailed project plans.