AFAC Q&A
PERSPECTIVES FROM THE SECTOR In this edition, AFAC CEO Rob Webb interviews recently appointed CEO of Natural Hazards Research Australia, Andrew Gissing. research that is useful and actionable, supported by a culture that puts utilisation at the centre of our decisionmaking, to ensure that our research makes a difference in keeping communities safe. There are many opportunities to advance our research, particularly in the ways we collect data and how we use it to answer research problems. A cross-disciplinary approach to our work is key in building future capability.
ROB WEBB AFAC
You’re the new CEO at Natural Hazards Research Australia (NHRA), which was established just over a year ago now. How has it been to make a fresh start, and what is your vision for NHRA moving forward?
I am excited to join the talented NHRA team and to work with our partners, leading tangible change through research, science, and innovation to enhance the safety, resilience, and sustainability of communities to natural hazards. This feels especially urgent right now as we see much of Victoria and NSW being hit with devastating flooding, while other parts of NSW Andrew Gissing and south-east Queensland are still addresses recovering from similar incidents, and emergency many communities are rebuilding after management communications Black Summer. NHRA is a national research professionals at the EMPA capability serving emergency conference in management, government, industry, May 2022. and the community. We deliver
AFAC’s members have noted just how good NHRA’s move to a research ‘node’ model with managers placed across the country has been. How does this new model shift the way you engage with your researchers and end users?
PHOTO: NHRA
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ISSUE FOUR 2022
Partners are at the core of our purpose and our evolved operating model means we are better able to connect with them through a dedicated research manager for each state and territory. This is already helping us to build stronger relationships as we work with partners to identify research needs and to share research knowledge. For example, we have exciting new projects underway about public predictive maps with the Bureau of Meteorology, AFAC and the Country Fire Authority; Indigenous management with NAILSMA [the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance]; and lifeline resilience for remote communities with the Australian Resilience Centre. Our research managers do excellent work to maintain these close relationships, and we now have formal partnerships with almost every major emergency management agency in the country. This is testament to our partnership development and will serve to strengthen our research management
and utilisation capabilities. We have plans to expand and strengthen this capability moving forward. The node model also means that we can quickly develop new projects in response to natural hazards. For example, in response the east coast floods this year, we worked with key NSW and Queensland academic and industry partners to gather urgent data on how those floods impacted community members. A node-based research model makes this kind of post-disaster research easier and more meaningful.
One of NHRA’s objectives is translating research into action. How are you achieving this? And where are the opportunities we can seize?
Effective translation begins with project definition and continues through the life of the project. We work with our partners to shape research directions and to ensure that any research we do has the best possible chance of being used by the sector. We are focused not only on defining the research needs of our partners and the nation, but also on having a clear understanding of the desired outcomes—for the sector and for communities—and properly evaluating how those outcomes are translated into action. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Each project receives tailored translation based on context and needs. We have already approved more than 30 projects since July 2021, each with exciting opportunities to inform practice. There are always opportunities to strengthen translation and knowledge exchange between partners and researchers—for example, via education and training initiatives such as industry placements. An example is our current project using Black Summer