Research Institute for the Environment & Livelihoods www.riel.cdu.edu.au

The RIEL Strategic Plan 2011-15

ANDREW CAMPBELL

CDU, 23 SEPTEMBER 2011

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Outline

• Vision

• Context

• Objectives & Strategies

• Measuring impact

• Research priorities

• Partnerships

RIEL Vision

extraordinary environments

rewarding research

productive partnerships

RIEL solutions

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• Our people

• The extraordinary environments of our region

• High quality scholarship, independence and rigour

• Making a difference, through influential research and communication

• Indigenous knowledge and connection to land and sea country

• Indigenous engagement, partnerships and capacity-building

• Collegiate teamwork internally, and collaboration externally

• An intellectually stimulating culture that draws people in and reaches out

• A service orientation that enables influential research

• Measuring and celebrating achievement at all levels

In RIEL, we value:

CONTEXT

regional distinctiveness

• Worldwide, there are very few English-language

universities headquartered in the tropics

− Closest Australian university (JCU) is 2500km away

− CDU is by far the major training provider in the NT

• Relatively intact landscapes and seascapes

− the largest network of free-flowing rivers in the world

− Indo-Malay global epicentre of tropical biodiversity

• Extraordinary cultural heritage, ancient and contemporary

• Rich development opportunities and intense development

pressures

• Strategic national significance given proximity to Asia

CONTEXT

profound technical challenges

• To decouple economic growth from carbon emissions

• To adapt to an increasingly difficult climate

• To increase water productivity

• To increase energy productivity

– while shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy

• To develop more sustainable food systems

– while conserving biodiversity and human livelihoods

– improving landscape amenity, soil health, animal welfare & human health

• TO DO ALL OF THIS SIMULTANEOUSLY!

— improving sustainability and resilience

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The objectives of the Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods (RIEL) are:

A. To develop a much better understanding of the ecological functions and processes of the ecosystems of northern Australia and adjacent regions — terrestrial, freshwater and marine — and how they relate to human livelihoods and well-being.

B. To inform public and industry policy, management decisions and community debate about how best to manage natural resources, respond to development pressures, and tackle environmental problems — in government, industry and in the community.

C. To build long-term environmental research capability in northern Australia.

RIEL Objectives

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In essence, RIEL has six lines of business:

1. Research to generate new knowledge — discovery science.

2. Integration and synthesis of diverse scientific outputs into forms and activities that meet the needs of intended end-users in government, industry and the community.

3. Communication of research outputs and synthesis products.

4. Training of higher degree by research (HDR) students to build new science capability.

5. Collaboration with other research agencies and research end-users to make best use of existing research capability in northern Australia, to attract new capabilities to the region, and to maximise the relevance and uptake of research outputs.

6. International research partnerships, projects and post-graduate training.

RIEL Strategies

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A.Understanding ecological

functions and

processes, and

how they relate to

human livelihoods

and well-being

B. Informing debate, policy, and

management decisions in

government, industry and

the community

C. Building long-term environmental research capability

in northern Australia and the region

Research to generate new

knowledge —

discovery science

Integration &

synthesis of

diverse

scientific

outputs

Communicati

on of research

outputs and

synthesis

products

Training of

postgraduate

students to build

new science

capability

Collaboration

with other

research

agencies and

research end-

users

International

research

projects,

partnerships

and training

RIEL objectives and strategies

12 performance measures across the six strategies

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A.Understanding B. Informing C. Building

Research to generate new

knowledge —

discovery science

Integration

& synthesis

of diverse

scientific

outputs

Communication

of research

outputs and

synthesis

products

Training of

postgraduate

students to build

new science

capability

Collaboration

with other

research

agencies and

research end-

users

International

research

projects,

partnerships

and training

• # publications

• # citations in

leading journals

• $ research grant

income

• Professional

recognition

• # & quality

of

synthesis

products

• Quality & use

of the RIEL

web site

• # & quality of

RIEL events

and media

coverage

• HDR

completions

• Quality of the

student

experience

• #, size and

quality of

research

partnerships

•Quality of

research

collaborations

in target

countries

•HDR

completions

with priority

partners

RIEL performance measures

35 metrics across the 12 performance measures

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Three main systems can and should generate the majority of the data needed for this evaluation framework:

• The research management system, that systematically gathers information from research contracts, and from academic research publications, including number of publications of each type, citations, grant income, research collaborations, partners, geographic locations, and HDR completions and assessment results;

• The website monitoring system (e.g.Google Analytics) should be able to capture visits, total ‘eyeball time’, types of users (at least by domain name), downloads, numbers of blogs and articles, and — depending on the degree of interactivity — user feedback; and

• The CDU media monitoring system can pick up mentions of RIEL and whether they are positive or negative, local or national.

RIEL Evaluation

RIEL Research Themes

• Natural resources-based Livelihoods

• Coastal and marine ecology and management

• Freshwater ecology and management

• Savanna management and wildlife conservation

• Tropical Resource Futures

Natural Resources-based Livelihoods Dr Natasha Stacey

• How people make a living from natural resources

• How resource-based livelihoods contribute to peoples’

well being

• Articulating cultural and social values

• Providing policy makers and managers with an

understanding of options and their likely ecological,

economic, social and cultural implications

• Payment for Environmental Services

Coastal and marine ecology and management

Prof Karen Gibb

• Ecological functions, processes & patterns of connectivity

• Land-coast-sea linkages

• Marine conservation planning and policy

• Marine biodiversity, from genetic level to whole seascapes

• Biogeochemistry of marine sediments

• Pollutant pathways and processes (e.g. Darwin Harbour)

• Training and consultancy services in molecular and

environmental ecology, chemistry and diagnostics

Freshwater ecology and management Prof Michael Douglas

• Catchment-river-floodplain-estuary linkages

• In-stream ecology and processes

• Water resources values, planning and policy

• TRaCK ($32m) & NERP ($14m) linkages across northern

Australia, with CSIRO, NRETAS, Griffith, UQ, JCU and

UWA

Savanna management and wildlife conservation Prof Keith Christian

• Conservation biology of tropical biodiversity

• Functional ecology of unique fauna

• Savanna ecology and management (especially carbon cycling)

• Sustainable land management

• Disturbance: fire, weeds, pest animals

Tropical Resource Futures Dr Stefan Maier

• Climate-Carbon-Water-Energy-Food system links

• Centre for Renewable Energy

• The carbon economy of the region

• Remote sensing and spatial information

RIEL International Research

• We welcome international partnerships that align with

our research interests

• Especially those that integrate HDR research at CDU

• We have a long track record of research in this region

RIEL postgraduate studies

• Currently under review, with a view to:

• Improving supervision and admin support for students

• Providing more face-to-face training & a more collegiate experience

• Developing leadership skills and career paths

• Improving completion rates

RIEL Partnerships

• Centre for Renewable Energy (with NTG)

• ARPNet (Aboriginal Research Practitioners’ Network)

– Extensive project collaboration with NAILSMA, NLC, CLC

• NERP (National Environmental Research Program)

northern Australia biodiversity hub (and TRaCK)

– and marine biodiversity hub northern node

• NAMRA (North Australian Marine Research Alliance)

• NAFI (North Australian Fire Information) & Bushfires NT

• ATSEF (Arafura Timor Sea Experts Forum) & CIFOR

• CRN (Collaborative Research Network — with TNI) 20

some RIEL big ideas

• Integrated knowledge system for Darwin Harbour

• Designing the carbon economy of northern Australia

• ‘Blue carbon’ in south-east Asia

• A regional network of Livelihoods and Indigenous

Research Practitioners

• Knowledge leadership & brokering on Indigenous Rangers

• Policy frameworks for large-scale resource developments

• Charles Darwin Chair in Evolutionary Biology

• Biodiversity conservation at landscape scale

• TRaCK (Tropical Rivers & Coastal Knowledge) 21

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RIEL Communication

• We operate in an international market for knowledge

• It is highly interconnected, and web-literate

• Our web site is our shop-front, our gateway, and our own best advertisement

• It is also fundamental in our own basic knowledge management

• Your own page will be read by many more people than your CV

• Blogs are a great way to start publishing, and to promote more serious work

• GO FOR IT!!!

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• Overhaul the HDR program

• Comprehensive communication and evaluation strategies

• A much more comprehensive, contemporary and interactive web presence, consistent with a leading edge environmental research institute, that is widely used and acclaimed both externally and internally

• Several new research initiatives in advanced planning stages, with partners involved and funding commitments secured

• A much larger community of adjunct scholars actively contributing to the intellectual life of the institute.

• ARPNet on a more secure footing both financially and in terms of staff support, and starting to be planned into relevant research projects as a matter of course.

• A science communication capability working on significant integration and synthesis products and activities, tailored to meet the knowledge needs of target audiences.

• Recruitment of new staff in areas of strategic priority.

• A knowledge management system that captures our outputs effectively and maximises the efficiency of data entry, access and use.

2012 Work Plan

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RIEL Org Chart 2011

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RIEL Org Chart 2012

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• in establishing RIEL, CDU is aiming high

• we should be among Australia's best environmental research institutes

• to aim for anything less is to sell ourselves short, and to underplay the challenges and opportunities of the region

• we have a great platform, but we can do much more, internally and with our partners

• Feedback on this draft is welcome. It’s about to be circulated much more widely as a consultation draft.

Summary

www.riel.cdu.edu.au