Theme 5 provides the resources and direction
required to bring together biophysical, economic and social data
needed to enable the development of knowledge products that will be
useful to the major end-users of the MTSRF programme such as
government agencies, industry and community sectors.
The proposed components of Theme 5 have been
developed to:
-
Increase the relevance and adoption of research to policy and
management;
-
Improve the effectiveness of data exchange and adoption of data
standards;
-
Facilitate the delivery of reports in the public interest;
-
Integrate biophysical studies to provide system-wide overviews;
and
-
Integrate biophysical, social and economic research.
Theme 5 will focus firstly on developing a
systems understanding that incorporates appropriate knowledge of
the context, drivers and solutions to address priorities identified
by end users of North Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef, Wet
Tropics rainforests and Torres Strait natural assets. This
understanding will be based on the results and knowledge generated
across MTSRF Projects as well as other current and historical
projects and end user knowledge networks. This understanding
may be expressed as reports, models, data, indicators or training
activities or materials.
Secondly, Theme 5 will facilitate the incorporation of this
system level understanding or knowledge into information that can
be readily utilised by management and industry for policy
development, planning and practice.
To enable MTSRF to adapt to changing circumstances or events,
the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources has set aside
an emerging priorities/contingency fund to deliver appropriate
response to such events.
The Theme 5 delivery mechanisms are the specific
responsibilities of the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre
Limited, which will utilise contractual arrangements to capture
required expertise.
Theme 5 will achieve the MTSRF goals
through:
-
Forging cross-program and cross-project linkages, such as
sharing of data sets and merging of key findings;
-
Synthesising solutions to key end-user problems, questions or
opportunities from the outputs of multiple project;
-
Integrating end-user knowledge and understanding into problem
definitions, solutions and the design of deliverables;
-
Catalysing co-learning partnerships among scientists, end-users,
business and communities;
-
Providing focusing mechanisms for adaptive learning across MTSRF
programs through knowledge and data gap identification; and
-
Providing a co-learning operating environment that enhances
overall productivity and ensures delivery of best quality science
to end-user problems and opportunities in a manner appropriate to
their needs and capabilities.
The key outputs from Theme 5 will
include:
-
An Integrated Report Card on the status and trends of North
Queensland’s natural assets;
-
Synthesised knowledge products focused on major end-user
problems or opportunities;
-
Baseline reports on the status and trends of North
Queensland’s natural assets;
-
Syntheses of knowledge useful for World Heritage, State of the
Environment and State of the Region reporting;
-
Best practice guidelines for key cross-cutting activities;
-
Integratable data sets through establishing and enforcing data
and knowledge standards;
-
Development of a data management system to enable public access
to the research findings, and establishment of data management
protocols and standards;
-
Adaptable tools and processes to contribute, with knowledge
syntheses, to solving end-user problems or exploring end user
opportunities;
-
Institutional structures for developing functional partnerships
among science, business, end-users and communities;
-
Knowledge delivery structures and processes designed to be
maximally useful to end-user needs and capabilities;
-
Carefully targeted communication products;
-
An operating environment designed to enhance adaptive
co-learning across all levels of MTSRF partners; and
-
A report on the evaluation of MTSRF’s impact.
