New award for outstanding use of Bushfire CRC research

The Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre is introducing the Research Utilisation Award to acknowledge agencies that make outstanding use of Bushfire CRC research.

The new award will be presented at each AFAC-Bushfire CRC annual conference alongside the existing Bushfire CRC Special Recognition Award for research leadership and AFAC’s Laurie Lavelle Award for industry achiever of the year.

The annual AFAC-Bushfire CRC conference is the premier conference in Australasia for the fire and emergency services sector. 

Bushfire CRC Research Utilisation Manager Dr Noreen Krusel says it is timely to acknowledge the effective uptake of research by fire, land management and other agencies in a similar manner to the established recognition of the individual people who conduct the research.

“The Research Utilisation Award will be specifically for agencies and specifically focused on Bushfire CRC research utilisation,” she said.  “It is the end-user agencies who utilise our research to make improvements to their businesses and ultimately impact on the safety of communities.”

Nominations for the award will be sought through both the Bushfire CRC and AFAC websites in early 2012. The nomination form will ask for such information as an agency’s previous practices and changes made because of the adoption of specific Bushfire CRC research projects and findings.

Nominations will also require information about  the benefits of  the changed practices, what has been done to promote and acknowledge the role of the  Bushfire CRC research in the improvements and the potential for extension to national or international application.

The Research Utilisation Award will include a presentation of a trophy at the AFAC-Bushfire CRC conference, which in 2012 is being held in Perth.