Integrating measures of Indigenous land management effectiveness. Land management is the fastest growing Indigenous employment sector in Australia yet methods for assessing its effectiveness are poorly developed. This project will work with Indigenous land managers and their major environmental service delivery partners to develop and agree on measures of land management effectiveness to meet multiple objectives.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120102787
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Building a green economy? The politics of green infrastructure stimulus in the wake of the global financial crisis. A considerable amount of government stimulus spending following the Global Financial Crisis was directed to 'green infrastructure'. This project analyses the successes and failures of several countries' green stimulus packages. Results will inform policy on future public investment in infrastructure that will be needed to address climate change.
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200186
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$230,583.00
Summary
Water resources management: past transformations for future sustainability. This project aims to develop a more systemic understanding of how culture, technology and institutional regulations have together transformed water resources management in Australia since the 1850s. Water resources in Australia have suffered multiple environmental and socio-economic crises. This project will identify the cultural and technological factors that have historically influenced allocations and access to water ....Water resources management: past transformations for future sustainability. This project aims to develop a more systemic understanding of how culture, technology and institutional regulations have together transformed water resources management in Australia since the 1850s. Water resources in Australia have suffered multiple environmental and socio-economic crises. This project will identify the cultural and technological factors that have historically influenced allocations and access to water resources for economic development, and the institutional regulations needed for tackling contemporary water crises. A deeper understanding of how public attitudes, institutions and socio-economic drivers redefined water resources management will help shape Australia’s capacity to prepare for a sustainable future. Read moreRead less
Sustainable Hydrogen Certification: A Multistakeholder Governance Approach. The project aims to assist policy analysts to devise a sustainable certification scheme for hydrogen that meets multistakeholder requirements. Its significance lies in challenging a techno-economic mindset focusing only on the fuel’s carbon intensity within a production plant. Taking a comparative historical approach, and incorporating the views of energy experts and stakeholders, the expected outcome is options for a ne ....Sustainable Hydrogen Certification: A Multistakeholder Governance Approach. The project aims to assist policy analysts to devise a sustainable certification scheme for hydrogen that meets multistakeholder requirements. Its significance lies in challenging a techno-economic mindset focusing only on the fuel’s carbon intensity within a production plant. Taking a comparative historical approach, and incorporating the views of energy experts and stakeholders, the expected outcome is options for a new sustainable certification scheme that addresses all technical, economic, social, environmental and governance requirements. The benefits to Australia are a ‘gold standard’ sustainable certification scheme that assures the country’s competitiveness in export markets and influence in global certification negotiations.Read moreRead less
Food and beverage price promotions: An untapped policy target . We aim to generate evidence on the influence of price promotions on foods and beverages considered to be of concern for human and planetary health. We further aim to identify if, and how, policies can be designed to reduce these types of price promotions and understand the feasibility and acceptability of doing so, from a range of perspectives.The significance of this project is substantial - unhealthy diets are the leading cause of ....Food and beverage price promotions: An untapped policy target . We aim to generate evidence on the influence of price promotions on foods and beverages considered to be of concern for human and planetary health. We further aim to identify if, and how, policies can be designed to reduce these types of price promotions and understand the feasibility and acceptability of doing so, from a range of perspectives.The significance of this project is substantial - unhealthy diets are the leading cause of disease and death and unhealthy foods account for >30% of the food-related environmental footprint. By understanding if, and how, this novel policy target can be designed to improve population food choices, this project will ultimately deliver benefits for human and planetary through improved dietary choices.Read moreRead less
Change agents and sustainability transformations in the water sector. The pursuit of sustainable development is a major challenge for Australian communities. System transformations are urgently needed, not just incremental change. While we know much about how to incubate local innovation, how innovation can be scaled to transform systems is not well understood. This project aims to understand how change agents can influence system transformations and how their actions can be enabled and constrai ....Change agents and sustainability transformations in the water sector. The pursuit of sustainable development is a major challenge for Australian communities. System transformations are urgently needed, not just incremental change. While we know much about how to incubate local innovation, how innovation can be scaled to transform systems is not well understood. This project aims to understand how change agents can influence system transformations and how their actions can be enabled and constrained by local conditions and governance arrangements. Its focus is on change agents working to promote urban water innovations and system change. We hope to develop new knowledge on the capabilities and resources that local governments and other actors must deploy to achieve sustainability transformations in Australia.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100511
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$354,190.00
Summary
Rethinking collaborative governance for urban sustainability and resilience. There is a pressing need to improve the resource sustainability of cities and their resilience to hazards. Increasingly, governments seek to achieve such improvement by engaging directly with businesses and citizens. Whilst this collaborative city governance holds promise for transforming resource use and the resilience of cities, little is known about its performance benefits and effectiveness. The project aims to addr ....Rethinking collaborative governance for urban sustainability and resilience. There is a pressing need to improve the resource sustainability of cities and their resilience to hazards. Increasingly, governments seek to achieve such improvement by engaging directly with businesses and citizens. Whilst this collaborative city governance holds promise for transforming resource use and the resilience of cities, little is known about its performance benefits and effectiveness. The project aims to address this knowledge gap through a systematic empirical analysis of a series of collaborations in four global cities. The project aims to help refine theories of collaborative governance, and provide policymakers and practitioners with lessons on how to improve sustainability and resilience of cities in Australia and elsewhere.Read moreRead less
Rethinking the public inquiry on science, technology and environmental change. The project aims to strengthen public inquiry as a policy tool in governance transitions about controversial science and technology. The adequacy of public inquiry in Australia as an authoritative ‘advisory mechanism’ on the promising benefits and (socio-) environmental effects of ‘big’ science and technology is a growing public policy problem. The project will review whether the public inquiry is too decoupled from g ....Rethinking the public inquiry on science, technology and environmental change. The project aims to strengthen public inquiry as a policy tool in governance transitions about controversial science and technology. The adequacy of public inquiry in Australia as an authoritative ‘advisory mechanism’ on the promising benefits and (socio-) environmental effects of ‘big’ science and technology is a growing public policy problem. The project will review whether the public inquiry is too decoupled from governance and environmental change. Through transdisciplinary participatory conduits, a deeper inquiry capacity is expected to address important national challenges of sustainability, economic and social prosperity, energy security, climate change and international competitiveness.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100190
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$379,729.00
Summary
The effectiveness of impact investing for biodiversity conservation. This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of impact investing for biodiversity conservation. Over $150 billion of private capital is invested worldwide to deliver social and environmental “impact” alongside a financial return. Impact investing promises “win-win-wins” for investors, governments and biodiversity alike, but also risks exacerbating accountability failures, transaction costs and conflicts of interest within hi ....The effectiveness of impact investing for biodiversity conservation. This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of impact investing for biodiversity conservation. Over $150 billion of private capital is invested worldwide to deliver social and environmental “impact” alongside a financial return. Impact investing promises “win-win-wins” for investors, governments and biodiversity alike, but also risks exacerbating accountability failures, transaction costs and conflicts of interest within highly complex governance networks. This project seeks to discover factors that enable or inhibit the effectiveness of impact investing using a governance perspective. Project outcomes are expected to inform how impact investing may be harnessed to improve biodiversity conservation while minimising perverse outcomes.Read moreRead less