For detailed descriptions of the outputs for this project for Year 4 (2009/2010) of the MTSRF Research Programme, see the Annual Research Plan.

Project 4.9.7 consists of three linked sub-projects:

Project 4.9.7(a) -  Understanding and enhancing community resilience:  Science and management integration project

Project 4.9.7(b) - Understanding and enhancing social resilience:  Science and management integration project from the catchment to region scale

Project 4.9.7(c) - Understanding and enhancing community resilience:  Science and management integration project (Continuation of Project 4.9.7 from previous years)

This project will proceed as a co-research partnership between the CSIRO, James Cook University and The University of Queensland.

Project 4.9.7(a) - Understanding and enhancing community resilience:  Science and management integration project

Project Leader and Host Organisation

Dr Tim Lynam, CSIRO

Project Description and Objectives

To contribute a set of indicators of social resilience to water quality change at the Great Barrier Reef scale for use by scientists, communities, natural resource management agencies (government, NRM agencies and industry agencies) and a more generally applicable approach to developing these indicators.

More specifically the project objectives are to:

• Make available to end users reliable indicators of social resilience to water quality change or to policies that seek to achieve water quality change; and

• Describe the approach to developing and using indicators such that the process is repeatable.

Project 4.9.7(b) - Understanding and enhancing social resilience:  Science and management integration project from the catchment to region scale

Project Leader and Host Organisation

Professor Helen Ross, The University of Queensland

Project Description and Objectives

To contribute:

• A set of indicators of social resilience to water quality change for use by natural resource management agencies and partners (NRM regional bodies, government organizations and Indigenous people) focused at large catchment (regional body administration) scale; and

• A more generally applicable participatory approach to developing these indicators.

The indicators of social resilience will make important contributions to the knowledge framework and the design of status and trend report cards (the State of the Region Report), through providing an integrated set of indicators for use in monitoring and reporting social resilience to water quality change and for more general planning uses. The indicators will also contribute to the synthesis of information, and make important communication contributions.

Project 4.9.7(c) -  Understanding and enhancing community resilience:  Science and management integration project (Continuation of Project 4.9.7 from previous years)

Project Leader and Host Organisation

Dr Margaret Gooch, James Cook University

Project Description and Objectives

The background and rationale for this project is described in detail in the Annual Research Plan for 2008/2009, and remains unchanged. The project comprises three sub-projects, with team members working closely with local councils, NRM agencies, schools, and government organisations. The project task objectives remain unchanged, and are re-stated here. The emphasis of this project is on the process of collaborative research, rather than a series of outputs or products, which although valuable, do not reflect the long-term benefits of working in collaboration with end-users. Over the past three years, each team member has developed strong relationships with the end users including Townsville City Council, Terrain NRM and Education Queensland. 

The project team is undertaking innovative research to operationalise the concept of social resilience, which has not been attempted to date. Specifically, their objectives are to:

• Foster positive actions which can result in improved local water quality;

• Develop a set of indicators of community capacity for stewardship especially in relation to water quality issues for use by communities, natural resource management agencies (government, NRM agencies and industry agencies) and scientists;

• Investigate the influence of school-based sustainability initiatives on the resilience of school communities; and

• Investigate the influence of natural resource management (NRM) initiatives on community-scale social resilience.