Reforming the procurement of construction and financing of Australian infrastructure: Advancing capacity, competition and investment. The project will significantly assist Federal and State governments in delivering value for money in the provision of a substantial infrastructure pipeline. The project will promote the transformation of the domestic construction industry in Australia, in terms of saving unnecessary transaction costs, promoting productivity, advancing training and accessing the wo ....Reforming the procurement of construction and financing of Australian infrastructure: Advancing capacity, competition and investment. The project will significantly assist Federal and State governments in delivering value for money in the provision of a substantial infrastructure pipeline. The project will promote the transformation of the domestic construction industry in Australia, in terms of saving unnecessary transaction costs, promoting productivity, advancing training and accessing the world's best knowledge and skills. In total, the project will help ensure that new infrastructure contributes to Australia's economic growth and counters inflationary pressures. Finally, the transferable knowledge outcomes of this project have potential to capture global attention and promote Australia as a leading nation in the provision of infrastructure.Read moreRead less
Assessing the adaptive capacity of hospital facilities to cope with climate-related extreme weather events: A risk management approach. Given Australia's and New Zealand's relatively high exposure to climate extremes, the social, economic and health benefits of better managed hospital facilities are significant. Floods, bushfires, heatwaves and cyclones cost Australia over $1.4bn/year and New Zealand over NZ$43m/yr in disruption to communities, business productivity and damage to infrastructure. ....Assessing the adaptive capacity of hospital facilities to cope with climate-related extreme weather events: A risk management approach. Given Australia's and New Zealand's relatively high exposure to climate extremes, the social, economic and health benefits of better managed hospital facilities are significant. Floods, bushfires, heatwaves and cyclones cost Australia over $1.4bn/year and New Zealand over NZ$43m/yr in disruption to communities, business productivity and damage to infrastructure. This research will help to mitigate these costs by protecting populations from the health risks associated with such events. The potential benefits will be most significant for those vulnerable communities at high risk such as the aged, the obese, the ill and those geographically exposed to more extreme weather events.Read moreRead less
Lifetime Affordable Housing in Australia: Integrating environmental performance and affordability. Existing dwellings and the locations of suburban housing with respect to employment centres result in significant greenhouse gas emissions. Water and other environmental issues are also important in housing performance, and there is currently a perceived trade-off between these factors and the affordability of housing. For the first time in Australia, this study will focus on overcoming this appare ....Lifetime Affordable Housing in Australia: Integrating environmental performance and affordability. Existing dwellings and the locations of suburban housing with respect to employment centres result in significant greenhouse gas emissions. Water and other environmental issues are also important in housing performance, and there is currently a perceived trade-off between these factors and the affordability of housing. For the first time in Australia, this study will focus on overcoming this apparent policy dilemma. The research will inform future housing policy in strengthening Australia's economic and social fabric, while contributing towards Australia's National Research Priority 1 'Environmentally Sustainable Australia'. Outcomes will provide significant national economic, social, water use and greenhouse gas benefits for Australia.Read moreRead less
Greening procurement of infrastructure construction: optimising mass-haul operations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This project will develop and prototype tools to reduce the high environmental impact of mass haul operations in road and rail infrastructure projects. Both contractors and clients need practical methods for calculating, optimising and procuring optimal solutions, because mass haul is one of the few areas where a contractor can reduce carbon dioxide impact.
Innovative procurement theories to optimise education per cost of school. Innovative procurement theories to optimise education per cost of school. This project aims to develop a whole-of-life procurement decision-making framework so schools can make delivering better education more cost effective. This framework—which draws on state-of-the-art and Nobel prize-winning theories and a new theory the project will develop—will be used in government and private schools. The effectiveness of this fram ....Innovative procurement theories to optimise education per cost of school. Innovative procurement theories to optimise education per cost of school. This project aims to develop a whole-of-life procurement decision-making framework so schools can make delivering better education more cost effective. This framework—which draws on state-of-the-art and Nobel prize-winning theories and a new theory the project will develop—will be used in government and private schools. The effectiveness of this framework in improving schools will be shown using a new approach to make school facilities deliver educational outcomes and account for their total production and transaction costs. This research is expected to deliver more efficient ways to future-proof schools to create a well performing school system and more resilient infrastructure vital to Australia’s future prosperity.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH220100016
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,959,803.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub to Advance Timber for Australia’s Future Built Environment. This project aims to transform Australia’s timber and construction sectors by stimulating rapid growth in timber innovation and uptake of use of timber in buildings. It plans to enable this transformation by addressing the diverse elements required to motivate investment, stimulate innovation, satisfy stakeholder demands, define long-term social-environmental-economic benefits and establish a roadmap for change. The exp ....ARC Research Hub to Advance Timber for Australia’s Future Built Environment. This project aims to transform Australia’s timber and construction sectors by stimulating rapid growth in timber innovation and uptake of use of timber in buildings. It plans to enable this transformation by addressing the diverse elements required to motivate investment, stimulate innovation, satisfy stakeholder demands, define long-term social-environmental-economic benefits and establish a roadmap for change. The expected outcomes will kickstart the change process, supported by growth in advanced manufacturing across the value chain. This should provide significant benefits in stimulating an opportunity for regional development and resource diversification whilst helping the sectors transition to a circular and net-zero economy.Read moreRead less
Making better decisions about built assets: learning by doing. This research will assist the built environment professions and their clients to make better decisions about new developments through a novel 'learning by doing' approach. Used successfully in other fields such as natural resource management, this idea will capitalise on the large number of asset investments undertaken to benchmark original stakeholder intentions and aspirations against the reality of current performance. Decisions w ....Making better decisions about built assets: learning by doing. This research will assist the built environment professions and their clients to make better decisions about new developments through a novel 'learning by doing' approach. Used successfully in other fields such as natural resource management, this idea will capitalise on the large number of asset investments undertaken to benchmark original stakeholder intentions and aspirations against the reality of current performance. Decisions will be re-evaluated in the context of contemporary economic, social and environmental criteria to enable existing multi-criteria models to deliver more sustainable outcomes that are also feasible and in the national interest, and consequently minimise the industry's current exposure to future climate change.Read moreRead less
Australian Centre For Research Excellence In Aboriginal Sexual Health And Blood Borne Viruses
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,496,848.00
Summary
Despite efforts to improve sexual health and blood borne virus outcomes for Aboriginal people over the last twenty years, this area lacks national coordination, has critical research gaps and requires a boost of research capacity to address the burden of diseases. This CRE will address research gaps, using novel, multidisciplinary methods and using unique research translation methods to ensure policy and practice benefits from the CRE outcomes.
Carbon neutral communities: making the transition. This project has well defined National benefits, both economic and social, for the collaborative partners, the business community, policy makers, community groups and the broader Australian community. It contributes toward NRP 1, through developing practical measures for reducing GHG emissions in Australian urban areas, and strategies for overcoming barriers to greater uptake of energy efficiency and alternative technologies; and helping Austra ....Carbon neutral communities: making the transition. This project has well defined National benefits, both economic and social, for the collaborative partners, the business community, policy makers, community groups and the broader Australian community. It contributes toward NRP 1, through developing practical measures for reducing GHG emissions in Australian urban areas, and strategies for overcoming barriers to greater uptake of energy efficiency and alternative technologies; and helping Australia to meet its greenhouse reduction targets. The project economic benefits to through energy savings; stimulating innovation in urban design, building design and transport use; promoting new business opportunities; and encouraging more sustainable lifestyle decisions. Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC220100012
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,939,486.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Advanced Building Systems Against Airborne Infection Transmission. The aim of the Centre is to engineer building systems whose elements work together to reduce airborne infection transmission by improving indoor air quality while maintaining comfort and efficiency. The significance is in establishing clean indoor air as the norm, with Australian industry being the forerunner in this process. The outcomes include new intelligent building systems, improved building technolo ....ARC Training Centre for Advanced Building Systems Against Airborne Infection Transmission. The aim of the Centre is to engineer building systems whose elements work together to reduce airborne infection transmission by improving indoor air quality while maintaining comfort and efficiency. The significance is in establishing clean indoor air as the norm, with Australian industry being the forerunner in this process. The outcomes include new intelligent building systems, improved building technologies, quantitative methods for building control, evidence for policymaking and recommendations for operational guidelines. Wide-ranging benefits include reducing the health and economic burden of inadequate indoor air and increasing the competitiveness of Australian industry in the face of increasing demand for next-level building systems.Read moreRead less