Transcript The DKCRC is committed to creating economic

Desert Knowledge
Cooperative Research Centre
www.desertknowledgecrc.com.au
MCATSIA Meeting
August 2007
Our vision
The DKCRC is committed to creating economic
opportunities for desert people and a
demonstrable difference for remote Indigenous
communities, through the application of excellent
research and training.
• Four outcomes
1. Sustainable livelihoods for desert people
2. Viable remote desert settlements
3. Thriving desert regional economies
4. Increased human and social capital of desert
people
Desert Knowledge CRC
•
Australia’s largest regionally based
social, economic, and
environmental research
collaboration.
•
Major regional nodes include Alice
Springs, Port Augusta and Mt Isa.
•
Network includes researchers in
Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin,
Brisbane, and Melbourne.
•
Approximately 250 researchers
across 28 partner agencies working
toward developing sustainable
livelihoods for desert people.
We work toward….
• Sustainable livelihoods for desert
people that are based on natural
resource and service enterprise
opportunities that are environmentally
and socially appropriate
• Sustainable remote desert settlements
that support the presence of desert
people, particularly remote Aboriginal
communities, as a result of improved
governance and access to services
• Thriving desert regional economies
that are based on desert competitive
advantages, bringing together
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
communities, government and
industry.
Where we work
•
Desert Knowledge Precinct
Deserts are different –
and in demand
• 457 discrete Aboriginal communities and 72% of these
have LESS THAN 50 people
• Feedback form coastal based partner: “The most
important thing is to understand that deserts are
different.”
• One third of respondents to a recent survey of more than
200 Victorian 4WD enthusiasts said they would rather
travel in the desert than in any other environment –
OnTrackTM:4WD Tourism Project.
Research that challenges
assumptions
• Relative poverty
does not correlate
with distance from
larger urban
centres
Community
Medium
weekly
family
income
Distance
to large
urban
centre
(km)
Davenport
300-399
20
Neppabunna
500-599
180
Koonibba
300-399
40
Mobility in and out of Town camps
• The survey data shows three main types of
movement of people as follows:
– In and out of the town camps, to communities and other
housing or camping in Alice Springs
– Inter-camp mobility: between town camps
– Intra-camp mobility: between houses in town camps
Population estimates following three surveys of
Alice Springs Town Camps
ABS Survey
2001
973
Estimated base
population
1605
1765
2065
Estimated
service
population
2560
2820
3300
Occupancy rates
• 10.8—16.1 people per house in the town
camps
• 20% of houses surveyed having 10 people
or more living in the house
• Community facilities and ablution blocks
become potential dwellings
• In Survey 1 there were 35 people living in
the 5 community facilities surveyed
• Six ablution blocks were occupied during
the survey.
Bush foods
Aboriginal Livelihoods
Diversifying bush products
Industry opportunities for bush foods harvesters &
wholesalers
Participatory domestication
of bush tomato
Market research and
industry development,
including branding and
policy-related matters
Bush foods methodology
The DKCRC project team works with:
– Aboriginal people and organisations
– Aboriginal communities
– Interdisciplinary research teams
– Aboriginal trainees
• The team works:
– across desert Australia
Remote telecommunications
• SANDS Project
(Sparse Ad-hoc Networks for Deserts)
– Improved communications for Aboriginal
community outstations
– Wireless network solutions based upon UHF
radio infrastructure
– Potential for a variety of network applications
in desert and remote Australia.
st
21
Century Pastoralism Project
• Cattle and Country Project.
– Building stronger Aboriginal pastoral enterprises.
– Participatory evaluation of State Govt. Aboriginal
pastoral development programs across northern and
central Australia.
– Indigenous Pastoral Employment Review analysing
Aboriginal involvement in the pastoral industry from
the perspective of both employers and employees,
and studying Aboriginal employment initiatives.
Desert Services that Work
• Feedback from Communities
• Overwhelmed by complexity of the
environment they are forced to work in
• Feel not this is not appreciated or listened
to
• Action research SRAs, RPAs, Local
Government Reform
• Focus on Governance Services and
Housing Services
DKCRC Aboriginal Education
•
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6 Aboriginal PhD students
20% of students are Aboriginal
1 Aboriginal honours student
4 Aboriginal trainees
Deadly Desert research
Polly Farmer project
NCVER Aboriginal case studies
Vocational and employment
pathways
• 43% of desert Aboriginal population 15+ in the labour
force. ½ is CDEP
• 12% have never attended school
• 4% have Certificate qualifications
• 170 completed apprenticeships or traineeships (2003)
• Most desert VET participation is in subject only & mixed
field courses & at Certificate I & II levels.
Aboriginal IP
• Aboriginal IP protocol protects traditional
knowledge
• Simple guides to Aboriginal IP
• Aboriginal IP workshops
• Aboriginal organisations partner with
DKCRC because of Aboriginal IP
Understanding communities
• The DKCRC works with communities by
focussing on
– Livelihoods
– Intergenerational research
– Multidisciplinary teams
– Inter-jurisdictional context
– Collaborative partnering
– Understanding IP in a cross-cultural context
Centre Partners
Associate Partners
Affiliate Partners