It is an active time for Natural Hazards Research Australia as we shift gear into the delivery of our research programs. We are now also focused on planning the next two years of our collective journey and delivering opportunities for Centre participants to engage in our research programs.
We are currently seeking the views of participants to help shape the future and encourage your involvement and support. Here are three specific opportunities worth mentioning:
The Biennial Research Plan is currently on its annual cycle of being reviewed. This Plan provides us with a two-year view of what research will be conducted in our immediate future. As part of a formal consultation process, I have emailed all Centre participants and key stakeholders with the invitation to comment on the Plan and make suggestions on its priorities going forward. Please take the time to include the views of your organisation into our research plans.
Be ahead of ready – foresight for policy and capability. The Centre is inviting participation in online workshops to contribute “big ideas” on improving policy and capability in natural hazards. A series of national online workshops begin from early April. These workshops are about foresight and ensuring that we are all at least one-step ahead of having to be ready to respond to any given natural hazard.
What are the “big ideas”? What are the barriers to overcome for them to be realised? What do we need to achieve these goals? Your contribution as a participant in the Centre will build on the foundations of the Centre’s earlier National Research Priorities and on the feedback from our inaugural Natural Hazards Research Forum in Brisbane last October. Invitations to participate in these workshops are currently being sent.
Research with Impact: Provoke, Inspire, Challenge, Be Involved. Following the successful inaugural event in Brisbane last year, the Centre and RMIT University are jointly delivering the annual Natural Hazards Research Forum in Melbourne from 1-3 May 2023 at RMIT’s City Campus. The Forum is an important activity for the Centre for promoting engagement on natural hazards research between researchers, end-users, government and the community.
Based on your feedback from last year, the 2023 Forum has a strong emphasis on harnessing the participation and engagement that is needed to make each individual project a success. The plenary plus workshops format will allow for plenty of networking and discussion between teams of researchers and partners. Our 2022 forum involved 120 different organisations and we hope to see your organisation represented at the forum in 2023. Registrations are open at https://www.naturalhazards.com.au/nhrf23.
I look forward to your contribution to these Centre activities over the next few weeks.