This project concept was developed by Fire Rescue Victoria.
Fire and rescue services have for many years measured their performance against internal or external benchmarks. The Emergency Management section of the Report on Government Services by the Productivity Commission sets out an outcomes framework for fire events that include some outcomes-based performance measures and fire and rescue services have also developed outcomes-based reporting frameworks in recent years. There is limited evidence-based contemporary analysis to help inform, monitor and evaluate the value and impact of service delivery of fire and rescue agencies. Many measures used in Australia remain output-related rather than outcome-based and there has historically been a focus on response times as a measure of success for fire and rescue services with a limited understanding of how that translates into successful outcomes for the community.
This project aims to identify evidence-based measures that will support fire and rescue services to create their own performance frameworks based on objective criteria and support continuous improvement of policy and regulatory settings and short- and long-term business planning. It will review how success is, or can be, determined for fire and rescue services and synthesise current practices in performance measurement and reporting.
This project will produce a set of principles and supporting guidance for use by fire and rescue services to design and refine their own performance measurement frameworks, as well as a range of potential evidence-based performance indicators and measures for fire and rescue services that are based on a strong intellectual foundation. The principles and guidance will also have application to other fire and emergency services.
The project will contribute to building a shared understanding of how societal and governmental expectations of fire and rescue services play out in strategic and policy goal setting and measuring performance towards those goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q) Are the word limits in the submission form a guideline?
A) Each question in the submission form has a required word limit. Submissions with statements exceeding the word limit will be deemed non-compliant.
Q) What do you mean by “Total cumulative FTE contribution over the life of the project"?
A) This means the total FTE per person over the life of the project. Maximum total FTE for each person is 1.0. Cumulative is to add up all the personnel.
For example:
- If someone is contributing 1 FTE per year for three years, then their FTE is 1.000 FTE
- If someone is contributing 0.1 FTE per year for three years, then their FTE is 0.100 FTE
- If someone is contributing 0.05 FTE for two years of a three year project, then their FTE 0.033 FTE
- If someone is contributing 0.5 for two years and 0.1 for one year of a three year project, then their FTE is 0.367 FTE
Q) Can the Centre connect interested parties with other agencies or organisations involved in developing this project, to discuss it further and assist in developing an EOI submission?
A) While an EOI is open for submissions, the Centre procurement processes don't allow Centre staff to connect interested parties, as this can cause conflicts of interest. However, interested parties are able to contact whomever they wish, excluding those organisations listed on the EOI, to discuss the project and explore opportunities for collaboration or potential consortium submissions. If an online
project briefing has been organised for an EOI, we encourage interested parties to attend the briefing to ask questions and meet other interested parties.
Q) Can interested parties contact the Centre with questions about the project design before submitting?
A) While an EOI is open for submissions, Centre procurement processes don't allow Centre staff to share knowledge of the project design directly with interested parties. However, if you have questions, you can email research@naturalhazards.com.au and you will receive a timely response if appropriate, according to our procurement processes.
Q) Is there a preference for a project team to be from a single research organisation, or from across multiple organisations?
A) The Centre has no preference for either a single organisation or a multi-organisation project team. EOIs will be accepted from either and will be evaluated against the evaluation criteria in the same way.
Q) Can the proposed project team include researchers from government agencies or research consultancies, as well as university-based researchers?
A) EOIs 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.
Q) Would academic salaries (excluding administrative overheads) be eligible to budget?
A) 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.
Q) At what rate can salary on-costs be charged?
A) Administrative overheads are limited to direct salary-related on-costs. Indirect cost recoveries are not to be included. Other administrative overheads and indirect costs can be included as in-kind contributions. Where the salary on-cost rate exceeds 28% this will need to be justified.
Q) Can equipment costs be included in the budget?
A) Ordinarily, project funds are not to be used to purchase equipment. Where funds for equipment are requested, they will need to be justified.
Q) Can international research teams apply? Alternatively, can international research teams be part of a consortium bid?
A) International research teams can be part of research projects when they are part of a consortium submission that is led by an Australian research organisation. The international team would need to be subcontracted by the lead Australian based research organisation. Please note that all budget submissions must be in Australian dollars and the lead organisation must bear the cost of funds transfer and responsibility for due diligence as required under Australian Foreign Interference regulations.
