Applied research investment and management in Australia is big business, involving many hundreds of organisations, thousands of people and billions of dollars annually. However, for such an important activity, there are remarkably few publications on how to go about it.
The Getting of Knowledge - a guide to funding and managing applied research has been developed by Andrew Campbell and Nick Schofield, Executive Director and Science Manager of Land & Water Australia, and launched today in Canberra.
It draws on fifteen years of experience in managing applied research in sustainable agriculture and natural resource management - but many of the lessons are likely to be relevant to other applied research domains.
"Applied research is about much more than generating new knowledge. It is also about enabling change, solving problems, developing new opportunities and supporting innovation," Mr Campbell said.
"We're not talking about blue sky, fundamental research at the laboratory level. By definition, applied research is designed to achieve a specific purpose to meet the needs of end users.
"This implies their knowledge gaps can be identified and adoption strategies 'hard-wired' into research program design and management."
Mr Campbell believes a clear strategic framework will help to determine the 'right things' to do - the areas of investment and the key research questions in each of those areas. The guide explains how to go about setting research priorities and choosing between alternative investment options.
It also presents various models of R&D governance and management for pursuing research objectives once they are determined. The pros and cons of collaboration are debated, and different procurement pathways are also outlined and compared.
Key management issues, tools and options are presented at the level of the whole R&D portfolio, and also at the level of individual research programs. Issues such as managing risk, research quality, expertise requirements, portfolio analysis, financial management and reporting are all covered from the perspective of the research manager and investor.
Detailed guidelines on evaluation are presented, as the lessons won through hard experience can be lost without an effective process in place to learn from both 'failure' and success.
The guide is available free of charge from Land & Water Australia, one of Australia's 15 Rural Research and Development Corporations, at www.lwa.gov.au
Media Enquiries: Kaaren Latham, 02 8204 3852, 0409 809 909, media@lwa.gov.au
Print Friendly
Text Mode