Planning for the new CRC for Fire – Environment and Society has increased in recent weeks with the announcement by the Australian Government of the new guidelines for the Cooperative Research Centre Program funding.

The new guidelines have a different emphasis from previous ones, with the most significant change for the Bushfire CRC being the restoration of the “public good” criteria, which was removed under the previous Federal Government.

The new guidelines include the timeline of the next funding round. Applications for new CRC funding must be submitted by 20 March 2009 with successful proposals announced in mid-July 2009.

AFAC is coordinating the proposed CRC Fire – Environment and Society, which will build upon the achievements and directions established by the Bushfire CRC. All AFAC partners have been included in discussions on how their agency can get involved with the new CRC and provide the necessary support to make the proposal successful.

This consultation has led to formation of a research program based around the following key issues:

• Climate change and drought
• Demographic changes
• Workplace health and safety
• Changing technologies
• Legislation and Policy

The key research themes are:
Risk Assessment - an integrated decision support tool for optimising risk for the fire industry.

Living with the Threat of Fire in a Changing World - enhancing the community’s ability to live with the threat of fire in an environment of significant global change.

The Role of People, Technology and Systems in Managing Fire
- ensuring the right people, equipment and systems are available at the right place at the right time.

Fire’s Future Role in Delivering Sustainable Ecosystems and Enhanced Environments - environmentally sustainable solutions for industry, fire- and land-management.

Education - skilled people for the fire industry.

Knowledge Management and Research Adoption - maximisation of benefits from research.

AFAC is now talking to potential partners from industries either related to fire or subject to the impacts of fire including agriculture, water authorities, power utilities, local government and insurance.

The Bushfire CRC is in its sixth of seven years of funded research with its focus now mostly directed to the adoption of the research outputs into the fire and land management agencies.

The latest information on the CRC re-bid can be found on the Bushfire CRC website
 
 

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The 16th Annual AFAC Conference incorporating the Bushfire CRC Conference will be held on the Gold Coast Queensland from the 22-24 September 2009.  AFAC is currently calling for papers to be delivered at this important conference.

The AFAC/ Bushfire CRC Conference is Australasia’s foremost annual emergency services conference, attracting up to 1,300 delegates from all over the world. AFAC represents all fire, land management and emergency services agencies in Australia and New Zealand while the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre is the peak research body for the fire industry in this region. 

This will be the final Bushfire CRC conference as the research program reaches its conclusion. The conference will highlight the plans to continue with a national fire research program.

The theme of the AFAC/Bushfire CRC 2009 conference is ‘Meeting Expectations’.
The conference will examine the expectations placed upon the emergency services by:

• Government
• Community
• Commercial sector
• Itself

There will be vigorous discussion about how the emergency services interpret and strive to meet the expectations of all these groups.  How do they measure, understand and respond to the various, often contradictory, demands and expectations from various sectors.  What are they really striving to achieve?  Are they successful?
Abstracts are invited from all sectors:

• Emergency services personnel
• Land managers
• Researchers and academics
• Industry
• Federal and State Government
• Local Government
• Community/end-users.

You will be expected to demonstrate clearly how your sector meets or imposes expectations on the emergency services, and how these expectations impact upon areas including:

• service delivery
• response capacity
• community perceptions
• staff capacity
• business efficiency
• security
• technological capacity
• safety

The conference will also examine the latest research, and best practices in the areas of:

• wildland urban interface issues
• urban fire
• rescue
• wildland fire
• community safety
• technology and communications
• health and safety
• aerial firefighting
• suppression
• fuels management
• ecology and biodiversity
• community preparedness and warnings
• protection of people and property

AFAC’s Strategic Plan incorporates a series of Goals and Objectives which may also be the basis for papers exploring the achievement of those goals, or the progress of the strategies towards the goals.

For more Conference information and to lodge a submission on-line visit the Conference website. 

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