A new research agenda

Last week marked a milestone in the life of the CRC: the Board of the centre met and approved the research portfolio for the next four years. As many will know, this has been an almost 18-month process of working with our end-users, researchers and boarder stakeholders. Many of our existing teams are continuing in their work, and are now in discussions with their end-users about the detail of what needs to be completed to ensure use of the research. Next year we will begin work on a number of new project areas, including:

• Coastal management, on predicting the impacts of natural hazards on the built environment in coastal areas.
• Emergency management capability, on diversity in emergency services, mental health and well-being in emergency services agencies, and catastrophic event planning.
• Institutions and governance, on improving land use planning practices for enhanced natural hazard mitigation.
• Recovery, on mental health resilience in disaster recovery

We are seeking end-users in these areas to help shape the final details, so if you are interested please contact our Research Director Michael Rumsewicz on michael.rumsewicz@bnhcrc.com.au

This decision by the Board was only made possible by the sustained hard work of all the staff in the CRC’s office, for which the Board and I are very grateful.

December also marks the beginning of what has been coined ‘the disaster season’. We recently released our updated outlook for bushfire this summer, which reiterates the importance of being vigilant and preparing for the coming months. But summer is more than just bushfire, it is also the time for cyclones, floods and other hazards across our country.

So with the festive season fast approaching, we at the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC wish you a safe and very happy Christmas and New Year period, and send a huge thank you to all of our emergency services who will look after us, not just in the holiday season, but throughout 2017.