New research opportunities available

New research opportunities are available with the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC. Expressions of interest (EOI) are currently being sought for three projects investigating climate change impacts, identifying prescribed burning windows and analysing community resilience. The projects are being undertaken for the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP).

Over the next five weeks, further EOIs will be sought for a number of other research projects. These will be announced on the CRC’s website, via email and on social media. Topics for these future EOIs are detailed at the bottom of this article. This process will stagger the submission deadlines to ensure ample opportunity is provided to researchers who wish to submit proposals for multiple projects.

Ecosystems resilience data - closing 13 July

With the aim of minimising the impacts of bushfires, this project will analyse biological monitoring data collected by DELWP across 2017/2018 to answer targeted questions. By understanding this data, the research will help DELWP maintain natural ecosystems and deliver services to improve biodiversity, forests, water and carbon storage. More information is available here.

Climate change and fire weather - closing 13 July

This research will take into account the impacts of climate change on fire weather, including how variables such as rainfall, temperature, wind and relative humidity might change in the future. This will strengthen the knowledge and data available in Victoria, informing decision making and climate change models. More information is available here.

Identifying planned burn windows - closing 13 July

This project will analyse climate datasets from 1972 to 2017 to assess how prescribed burning windows have changed over the last 45 years. This analysis will collate evidence on the average number of days and hours that a prescribed burn can take place in a given area, helping to inform how DELWP conduct prescribed burning in the future. More information is available here.

Submitting a proposal

Further details on the projects and instructions of the requirements of these EOI can be found here. Any interested parties are encouraged to put forward a proposal. Responses are due by midnight on 13 July 2018.

Researchers are also encouraged to provide a consortium approach. In this case one party would be nominated as the lead research organisation and have overall responsibility for project delivery.

Future topics

EOIs will be sought in the next five weeks for projects investigating:

• The development of a new user interface for the Victorian historical fire weather gridded dataset
• Community engagement around bushfire risk reduction
• The effects of fire on specific ecosystems
• Efficiencies of fire resources
• How to best gather data on environmental regulatory systems
• Better seasonal predictions of bushfire
• Wildlife protection
• Environmental compliance
• The impacts of environmental crime.

Any enquiries or request for further documentation related to these EOI should be directed to Loriana Bethune: loriana.bethune@bnhcrc.com.au.