Spreading the word to all partners

Our Federal Government funders show a great interest in how we interact with what they refer to as the Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) sector. While we regularly demonstrate strong links to our “bigger” partners – the fire and land management agencies, CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology, Geoscience Australia, and more than a dozen universities – our links to the “smaller” parts of the sector are nonetheless strong and well maintained.

Here are two good examples of this. Firstly, the Fire Protection Association of Australia (FPAA) is now a member of the Bushfire CRC, representing more than 3000 small and medium-sized businesses in the fire safety and protection industry. A tangible aspect of this relationship is the Fire Australia magazine, published jointly by the Bushfire CRC, FPAA and AFAC. Secondly, our annual conference attracts around 100 businesses to the trade exhibition, where the broader fire industry can meet with researchers and agency staff.

This weekend I will be talking to our colleagues about communications and technology in emergency management at the APCO Australasia conference in Queensland. I have spoken at APCO conferences in the past, and also at FPAA conferences, and have been greatly impressed by the enthusiasm across the board for new research outputs. This will be another excellent opportunity to spread the word about our good research progress and how it is relevant to the many parts of the fire industry, including the SMEs.