From the Director Future Directions
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June 2006 ISSUE 5 FROM THE DIRECTOR FUTURE DIRECTIONS INTEGRATION ACROSS ILWS WATER SYSTEMS GROUP On May 19 around 30 members met with The Water Systems Group is about FROM THE 1 Denis Saunders and Cathy McGowan from hydrology in a systems context looking at the Advisory Board to explore ideas for three processes in the Murray Darling Basin like DIRECTOR 2 ILWS integration programs. The day also flow processes, contaminant transport included presentations from the Discipline processes and interlinkage between FUTURE 1 Group leaders and an opportunity for an surface and ground water processes. DIRECTIONS 2 “open forum” at the end of the day. “We are developing strategic science which Water Systems Workshop participants were mostly drawn from links with the other discipline groups within the Group the Management Team and the Reference Group. Institute to develop integrated land and water Emerging Arts, 2 I provided some context to integration in ILWS and management options from farm to the Culture & 3 highlighted the ILWS mission which is to be An catchments levels,” says discipline group leader internationally recognized provider of integrated Professor Shahbaz Khan. Communication research that is contributing to enhanced social Group and environmental sustainability in rural and Shahbaz and his team recently moved to what regional areas. The CSU Research Plan 2007- was the Fine Arts building on the Wagga campus. “We have the whole team in one place, INSTITUTE EVENTS 3 2011 also emphasizes the importance of integrated programs of research and indicates that and this move has given us the ability to invite substantial CSU investment will support this our international visitors to strategic PROFILE 4 activity. I also emphasized that integration is not a meetings…we now have a home,” says panacea and it is often difficult to do. Shahbaz who has used the area outside the Dr David Roshier building to set up a simple but effective display The ILWS approach to integration has so far of how to grow vegetables using very little water IN THE NEWS 5 focused on supporting the development of strong and space. discipline groups, working with the Advisory Board to scope potential integration opportunities, Shahbaz is also developing a bid for a CONFERENCES & 6 enhancing communication and relationship UNESCO centre, as a means of positioning SEMINARS building across ILWS and engaging potential CSU as a provider of quality international research partners. There have been some early teaching and research in the agricultural water successes, but this is a long-term process and the management area. He does not see his bid for JCEC 6 May 19 Planning Day was one part in that international accreditation for the new process. International Centre for Water, Agriculture AWARDS & Technology and Environmental Research (WATER) as a move away from the Institute. APPOINTMENTS 6 Gary Luck, Robyn Watts and Mark Morrison with Penny Davidson provided ‘primers’ to stimulate our discussion of the three opportunities identified “While we are scoping the new international PUBLICATIONS 7 by the Management Team/ Advisory Board in centre we are not pulling out of the Institute,” says Shahbaz. “The Institute has its focus in the February. These ‘primers’ have been posted on the ILWS web site. Our discussions soon revealed Murray-Darling Basin and within the MDB the PROJECTS & 8 many of the constraints to integration, including Institute is doing many projects. The Water GRANTS different world views, concerns about acceptance Systems Group very actively contributes to that research. But at the same time we are trying to of research outcomes in our disciplines; the additional time and resources required; and the develop a UNESCO centre with a focus on VISITORS 8 workload issues faced by academics at CSU. water for food security in an international (cont page 2) context.” (cont page 2) FEATURE STORY: DR DAVID ROSHIER A principal researcher with the Institute, ecologist Dr David Roshier is now one of the few researchers in Australia studying migratory patterns of birds. Story page 4 June 2006 P1 FROM THE DIRECTOR EMERGING ARTS, CULTURE AND I was impressed by the diversity and quality of ideas, the high COMMUNICATIONS DISCIPLINE level of commitment to research and established research GROUP groups, and the desire to be part of helping ILWS make a As a person who sees the cultural aspects of community difference in our regions. It was also clear that we need to invest heavily in building relationships, understanding and trust as particularly important, Kevin Poynter sees the if we are to have successful integration programs. We were Institute’s emerging Arts, Culture and Communications also able to advance our thinking about the three programs. Discipline Group as providing a fantastic opportunity to continue and expand on his work enriching rural and The next step will be to establish working groups to frame up regional communities. the integration programs over the latter part of 2006. My expectation is that all ILWS members will have the opportunity “I’m really excited by the Institute’s commitment to the cultural and be supported to engage in this process. I have given a aspects of community which are very easy to exclude in the commitment that the integration programs will be properly thinking about sustainable communities particularly with all the resourced, including teaching relief for program leaders; travel ecological problems besetting us at the moment,” says the new to planning workshops; and eventually, some PhDs and post- leader of the emerging group Kevin Poynter. “But things like docs to seed research efforts. the quality of life, the voice of the community…they are also really important when we talk about the sustainability of rural On other matters: and regional communities.” (Kevin, who lecturers in design for There will be 4 bids from ILWS for professorial appointments in theatre and TV, and production, stage and company the current round. Bids are being developed by the Ecology, management, for the School of Visual and Performing Arts at Economics and Regional Development, Social Research and the Wagga Wagga campus has taken on the leadership role of Water Systems groups. the group replacing Dr Ray Goodlass who retired earlier this year.) Following discussions with Centre Directors, Prof Paul Burnett has established the rules for the 2006 Research Quality Kevin says, for example, there are good models overseas of assessment. The 2006 and 2007 RQ rounds will be internal theatre companies which have been able to link into CSU processes. The first national RQ assessment will occur in communities and enhance cultural aspects. These models 2008. For 2006, the process will focus on quality not impact include: (although there is some overlap) and each Centre will be asked • The 7:84 theatre company in England and Scotland to prepare a case for two research groupings/ themes, with a (so named because when it was formed seven per minimum of 4/5 individuals (max 8) identifying 4 “best” cent of the population owned 84% of the country’s publications over the past 5 years (01 to 06). Centres have until wealth). It is about making theatre for working class early September to submit their portfolios. The ILWS communities using those communities’ forms of Management Team has invited the Ecology and Social entertainment. Research groups to identify groupings to prepare submissions • Welfare State International which is strongly interested on behalf of ILWS. in the cultural life of communities .-Prof. Allan Curtis The Makhampom theatre company in Thailand (with (Allan’s notes on integration and the three ‘primers’ are at • which Kevin did a study tour) which has an interesting http://www.csu.edu.au/research/ilws/research/index.htm ) approach that encourages village communities to establish their own independent theatre companies. FUTURE DIRECTIONS While Kevin’s main interest and background is in theatre, he WATER SYSTEMS GROUP says the emerging group will provide opportunities for (cont. from page 1) colleagues in the arts to become more involved in cross “The new centre needs to be an independent legal identity discipline research. “There are opportunities to provide creative interpretation of the work that other researchers in the Institute otherwise UNESCO will not accredit it, “ says Shahbaz who is about 90% through the proposal process for the new centre are doing,” says Kevin. In his case, Kevin is the artistic director which he is seeking funding for from UNESCO, the Australian of a small theatre company called Gearstick Theatre, which Government, CSU and international bodies. could be a suitable vehicle to produce such work. With two former BA in Acting for Stage and Screen students, Craig Higgs He says the new centre would benefit the Institute. “There will and Shelley Gaul, he set up the cooperative theatre company three years ago as a forum for the talent of graduate students. be people from the Institute and other places such as the E.G. Graham Centre who will be contributing to the new centre for water for food security, as well as international adjuncts and “Some of the projects are based on existing scripts which we other appointments,” he says. He expects current membership have toured around, and others, such as an adaptation of of the water systems group (20) to double once the new centre Dracula that I did last year, we generated ourselves,” says Kevin, who obtained a publication grant from the Arts Faculty to is accredited. have the script published. “What we are looking at now is creating new work and designing work particularly for smaller, rural communities in the Wagga, Riverina area. Ultimately the work will be able to be taken anywhere. We are setting up the company so we can apply for Australia Council grants and the like.