Annual report 2005-06.indd - Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems ...

commercialisationSpin-offs and patentsTo date the ACE CRC has not applied for anypatents, nor created any spin-off companies. Weare actively seeking closer links with a local SME,and a Memorandum of Understanding with thatorganisation is under negotiation.Research UtilisationThe ACE CRC has embarked on a two-foldstrategy to improve our capability for deliveringeconomic, environmental or social value from ourresearch.Know our usersWe recognise the need to bring a betterunderstanding of our research users’ interestsinto our research community. We invited externalspeakers to address our annual symposium onwhat they need from ACE CRC research, andlater followed up with each speaker to identifymeans of better meeting the needs. As a directresult of this, we co-hosted with one user – theTasmanian Department of Primary Industriesand Water – a workshop on Coastal ExtremeEvents for Tasmanian organisations responsiblefor built coastal infrastructure which deliveredspecifically targeted and useful information to 22organisations. Further joint work is planned forthe forthcoming year.Our Policy Program hosted its second ResearchUsers’ Forum in Canberra, and followed up withdetailed discussions with government agencies toidentify their ‘top 20’ questions regarding climateissues. Regular follow up with these users hascontinued through the year.We consulted with Tasmanian organisationsto better understand the climate parametersthat drive their strategic decisions. We haveuncovered a widespread recognition of theimportance of climate to economic decisionmaking in a variety of industries. The scaleof the issue of climate change is such that nosingle local organisation or industry could fundthe research necessary to answer questionsspecific to Tasmania’s climate future. But theevident interest from this Tasmanian communityoffers a promising delivery mechanism for futureresearch.Relate our research to user needsDuring this year each project was reviewed toidentify its potential for delivery to the range ofend users identified in the C&UP. From this workwe have identified a short list of delivery projectsthat will require commitment from both the ACECRC and its end users to ensure that value isboth delivered and taken up. These projects willbe refined and prioritised to focus our attentionon those activities most likely to deliver thehighest value.In recognition of our role in developing thecapacity of our postgraduate students to delivervalue in their future research careers, we areundertaking a review of our student projects toidentify those which could benefit from closerassociation with external research users.Commercialisation MilestoneMilestone 2005-06 Milestones &/or outputs Achieved Progress during 05-06CommonwealthAgreementCommonwealth approval ofCommercialisation & Utilisation PlanYesNotification ofCommonwealth approvalgiven on 26 August 2005Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems CRC - Annual Report 2005-06 13