Expressions of Interest have now closed for a new scoping project that will guide the development of a national bushfire information database.
Part of Natural Hazard Research Australia’s first round of research projects, the Bushfire information database – scoping study is a nine-month project responding to the need for a consolidated understanding of the quality, purpose and availability of bushfire datasets in Australia.
This project responds to findings – from the 2020 Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements and the 2020 NSW Independent Bushfire Inquiry – that Australia does not have a national centralised bushfire information database that can be used to understand trends, including in bushfire intensity and extent, and the extent and efficacy of mitigation activities. This means that policy and decision-makers currently do not have access to all the credible information required for evidence-informed practice.
Researchers will identify and determine current data and systems, current knowledge gaps, data needs and availability.
For more information about this project, read the Call for Expressions of Interest here (also downloadable below). Expressions of Interest are now closed. Applicants will be informed of the outcome by late April.
Online project briefing:
An online project briefing took place at 2pm (AEDT) Monday 28 February 2022, to provide more information to interested respondents. Watch the recording below and read the answered questions raised during the briefing (also downloadable below).
Further information about round one research projects:
Round one of the Centre’s funding meets the Australian Government's requirements for funding the Centre, as agreed to earlier in 2021. This initial funding round ensures that natural hazards research activities can continue while the Centre’s broader research priorities and program are developed. An additional two rounds of research projects will follow in the first half of 2022, based on partner needs and the research priorities.
Frequently asked questions:
Is there a preference for a project team to be from a single research organisation, or from across multiple organisations?
The Centre has no preference for either a single organisation or a multi-organisation project team. Expressions of Interest will be accepted from either and will be evaluated against the evaluation criteria in the same way.
Can the proposed project team include researchers from government agencies (i.e., CSIRO, Bureau of Meteorology) or research consultancies, as well as university-based researchers?
Expressions of Interest will be accepted from multi-organisation project teams, and project teams can include researchers at government agencies and research consultancies. The proposed project team's capacity to undertake the project will be evaluated in the same way whether researchers are university-, consultancy- or agency-based.
Would academic salaries (excluding administrative overheads) be eligible to budget?
Yes, academic salaries can be included within the project budget, but only when they are direct project costs and their salary is not already covered elsewhere e.g. the salary costs of a contract researcher who is actively working on the project can be included up to the FTE component they are contributing. However, the salary costs of a tenured academic who is already paid through the university/research organisation would be included as an in-kind contribution up to the amount of their FTE contribution to the project.