Utilisation hot on the agenda in Brisbane

Utilisation was the key focus at the latest Research Advisory Forum (RAF), which took place in Brisbane on 21-22 November.

Over 80 researchers, end-users and stakeholders gathered at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to discuss the developments and utilisation potential across the physical sciences half of the CRC’s core research program.

Researchers and end-users from several projects involving fire management, fire behaviour, cyclone mitigation and resilience, flood management, severe weather and critical road infrastructure were present at the two-day event.

Deputy Commissioner Mike Wassing, QFES, opened the Forum, which was followed by presentations and breakout sessions where research was put into practice with end-users from a range of CRC partner agencies.

PhD students Rahul Wadhwani and Mitchell Humphreys, alongside associate student Nicolas Borchers Arriagada, were given the opportunity to showcase their research as part of a Three Minute Thesis presentation.

These presentations built on the knowledge developed from a student workshop that focused on presentation skills and research impacts held on 20 November.

Ten CRC PhD and associate students attended the workshop, which discussed the benefits of applying research into practice and the key things that PhDs should look out for when writing their theses.

The session was hosted by the CRC’s Research Director Dr John Bates.

CRC PhD student Mercy Ndalila, University of Tasmania, attended the student workshop and found it to be highly beneficial for her research concerning the past, present, and projected distribution of bushfires in Tasmania.

“We got ideas on how our research could be utilised by fire and other land management agencies during planning and operations.

In addition, we learnt about how our research could generate products with a potential of commercialisation and application by the broader community,” Mercy said.

On day two of the forum CRC Utilisation Manager Dr Matthew Hayne lead a discussion about the importance of doing more than just research.

“There’s more to research than just writing a PhD and leaving it in the corner of your bookshelf, it’s about embedding those findings into practice,” Dr Hayne said.

Dr Marta Yebra (ANU), Dr Stuart Matthews (NSW Rural Fire Service) and Dr Felipe Aires (Office of Environment and Heritage NSW) all spoke about the initiatives they are taking to embed research findings at an agency level.

Dr Yebra specifically spoke about her work with the Australian Flammability Monitoring System and how that was released almost a year before her research paper was accepted.

“It is important to get your research out even if it is unpublished,” Dr Yebra said.

Dr Stuart Matthews discussed the stages of implementing fire research, particularly in a large organisation like NSW Rural Fire Service.

Understanding the research; research engagement; implementation; supporting operational use; policy development; training and support; familiarisation and maintenance and improvement of the final product are key to research utilisation Dr Matthews said.

The Forum concluded with more breakout sessions, where collaboration and utilisation were again high on the agenda.

The next RAF will take place in 2019, with a fresh new look that will consider utilisation capabilities and planning for the future.