Building an integrated system for Australian bushfire prevention. Building an integrated system for Australian bushfire prevention. This project aims to develop a comprehensive approach to prevent arson. Bushfires are a serious issue in Australia, made worse by climate change; since most of these fires are started by people, it is important to prevent arson. Building on previous work, this project intends to improve community responses, and build a model to predict risk and improve data sharing. ....Building an integrated system for Australian bushfire prevention. Building an integrated system for Australian bushfire prevention. This project aims to develop a comprehensive approach to prevent arson. Bushfires are a serious issue in Australia, made worse by climate change; since most of these fires are started by people, it is important to prevent arson. Building on previous work, this project intends to improve community responses, and build a model to predict risk and improve data sharing. The intended outcome is an all-risks approach to arson prevention and community engagement. This research should reduce the incidence of arson in Australia, and also be useful overseas.Read moreRead less
A Scenario Planning Tool - Improving the Bikeability of Our Cities. This project aims to produce a data framework and interactive planning support tool, in collaboration with Australian government agencies, to explore various bicycle infrastructure scenarios and assess their potential impacts. This will be a game changer for the transport sector, as the lack of data-driven approaches focused on active mobility has restricted the development of evidence-based business cases for cycling infrastruc ....A Scenario Planning Tool - Improving the Bikeability of Our Cities. This project aims to produce a data framework and interactive planning support tool, in collaboration with Australian government agencies, to explore various bicycle infrastructure scenarios and assess their potential impacts. This will be a game changer for the transport sector, as the lack of data-driven approaches focused on active mobility has restricted the development of evidence-based business cases for cycling infrastructure investment, when compared to motorised transport. Benefits from this project to the nation include more informed and optimised investment in cycling, increase in cycling modal share, reduction of emissions and congestion, and improvement of safety and health outcomes from cycling.Read moreRead less
Promoting active travel and public transport for a post-pandemic world. In many major cities, COVID-19 stimulated the provision of open streets, pop up bike lanes and widened pedestrian access, prompting unprecedented increases cycling and walking. While this type of infrastructure has always been supported by urban planners and designers, the pandemic has served as a vital inflection point, enabling cities to pursue long-term sustainable transport initiatives, including investment in Active Tra ....Promoting active travel and public transport for a post-pandemic world. In many major cities, COVID-19 stimulated the provision of open streets, pop up bike lanes and widened pedestrian access, prompting unprecedented increases cycling and walking. While this type of infrastructure has always been supported by urban planners and designers, the pandemic has served as a vital inflection point, enabling cities to pursue long-term sustainable transport initiatives, including investment in Active Travel (AT). There is an opportunity to promote AT as part of an integrated transport strategy, and to develop tools for the robust evaluation of AT impacts to inform future investment strategies. This proposal will provide our partner organisation Transport for New South Wales (with the knowledge required to achieve this.
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Creating sustainable employment for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups . This project aims to address long-term unemployment and labour market exclusion of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups by generating new employer-led solutions. The project expects to create, with employers, successful strategies for recruiting disadvantaged workers into better quality jobs, and to co-produce best practice employer engagement toolkits and minimum job quality standards. Anticipated outcomes include increasi ....Creating sustainable employment for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups . This project aims to address long-term unemployment and labour market exclusion of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups by generating new employer-led solutions. The project expects to create, with employers, successful strategies for recruiting disadvantaged workers into better quality jobs, and to co-produce best practice employer engagement toolkits and minimum job quality standards. Anticipated outcomes include increasing the success of government-funded employment programs by improving employment opportunities and reducing cycling between work and welfare. Significant benefits for disadvantaged groups, businesses and society will result in increased employee wellbeing, organisational performance and economic competitiveness.Read moreRead less
Being On Country Off Country. This project aims to understand contemporary Australian Aboriginal connections to 'Country'. The concept of Country is integral to Australian Aboriginal meaning and culture, and Country and the individual are anthropologically inseparable and co-dependent. Being ‘on Country’ implies residency within a tract of landscape involving cultural origins and responsibilities, whereas being ‘off Country’ implies residency external to this home land. How, and to what degree, ....Being On Country Off Country. This project aims to understand contemporary Australian Aboriginal connections to 'Country'. The concept of Country is integral to Australian Aboriginal meaning and culture, and Country and the individual are anthropologically inseparable and co-dependent. Being ‘on Country’ implies residency within a tract of landscape involving cultural origins and responsibilities, whereas being ‘off Country’ implies residency external to this home land. How, and to what degree, these on and off protocols operate has not previously been researched. The project aims to explore regional and urban residency relationships in relation to Aboriginal Corporation membership eligibility and to Country self-nurture and custodianship relationships. It is highly relevant to Indigenous communities worldwide as their people move from their 'Country' to satisfy higher education and employment aspirations. The issues are central to improving Indigenous community engagement in planning.Read moreRead less
Play about Place: Expanding the impact of Creative Placemaking after COVID. This project aims to establish a new approach to placemaking through the development of urban play projects. The project expects to generate affordable and engaging experiences that activate existing public spaces, a typology and methodology for analysing the impacts of urban play, and a comparative study of urban play in Melbourne and Christchurch. Expected outcomes include creative placemaking strategies and projects, ....Play about Place: Expanding the impact of Creative Placemaking after COVID. This project aims to establish a new approach to placemaking through the development of urban play projects. The project expects to generate affordable and engaging experiences that activate existing public spaces, a typology and methodology for analysing the impacts of urban play, and a comparative study of urban play in Melbourne and Christchurch. Expected outcomes include creative placemaking strategies and projects, a connected impact study, and an industry resource for local government outlining our approach. This should provide significant benefits, including First Peoples storytelling experiences, city activation post-pandemic, community engagement, the potential to create jobs and provide economic and social benefit for Australia.Read moreRead less
Structural Protection of flywheel energy storage system . A flywheel energy storage system stores a large amount of energy in a rotating mass. Compared with other energy storage systems such as large-capacity batteries, the flywheel energy storage system features high power density, long lifespan, high efficiency and is carbon-free. Flywheel energy storage systems are typically constructed underground due to safety concerns from a potential rotor burst. In the present project, a high-performance ....Structural Protection of flywheel energy storage system . A flywheel energy storage system stores a large amount of energy in a rotating mass. Compared with other energy storage systems such as large-capacity batteries, the flywheel energy storage system features high power density, long lifespan, high efficiency and is carbon-free. Flywheel energy storage systems are typically constructed underground due to safety concerns from a potential rotor burst. In the present project, a high-performance confinement system is developed aiming at above-ground construction. The confinement systems which comprise low-carbon, rubberized concrete, energy-absorbing aluminum foam, and ductile steel cladding will allow for high-impact resistance, off-site prefabrication, and easy on-site installation. Read moreRead less
Designing a Holistic Model of Advice to Improve Retirement Planning. We aim to improve retirement planning through the design and application of a new model integrating financial advice with career and health planning to optimise financial and psychological outcomes. We will test a multidisciplinary, holistic model of advice combining specialist knowledge in careers, health, and finances. Expected outcomes of the project include evaluating the use of a broader range of experts during retirement ....Designing a Holistic Model of Advice to Improve Retirement Planning. We aim to improve retirement planning through the design and application of a new model integrating financial advice with career and health planning to optimise financial and psychological outcomes. We will test a multidisciplinary, holistic model of advice combining specialist knowledge in careers, health, and finances. Expected outcomes of the project include evaluating the use of a broader range of experts during retirement planning and developing a model for the future training and development of financial advisers.By optimising the timing of workplace exit, we aim to decrease reliance on pensions and encourage earlier and on-going engagement in the retirement planning process. This will provide significant social and economic benefits.Read moreRead less
Walk-quality: A multi-criteria design platform to facilitate active travel. This seminal cross-disciplinary study aims to combine key ‘walk-quality’ urban design factors: pedestrian accessibility, slope, thermal comfort, pedestrian risk, and pollution, into a design decision platform to enable systematic evaluation of precincts and test ‘what-if’ future scenarios.
With 60% of Australians not meeting recommended physical activity targets costing taxpayers billions of dollars annually, the projec ....Walk-quality: A multi-criteria design platform to facilitate active travel. This seminal cross-disciplinary study aims to combine key ‘walk-quality’ urban design factors: pedestrian accessibility, slope, thermal comfort, pedestrian risk, and pollution, into a design decision platform to enable systematic evaluation of precincts and test ‘what-if’ future scenarios.
With 60% of Australians not meeting recommended physical activity targets costing taxpayers billions of dollars annually, the project envisions development of acutely lacking spatio-temporal analysis and design tools to help prioritise urgently needed active transport infrastructure investment.
Anticipated ‘walk-quality’ improvements to facilitating active journeys have vital foreseeable community benefits through increased incidental physical activity.Read moreRead less
Measuring the benefits of reuse in the circular economy. The project will advance understanding of reuse commodity chains, their societal benefits and contributions to a more sustainable circular economy. Drawing on case study research with charitable and community reuse organisations, factors facilitating or inhibiting reuse will be identified, and rigorous methods developed for assessing the benefits of reuse organisations in terms of quantities of materials processed, employment, skills devel ....Measuring the benefits of reuse in the circular economy. The project will advance understanding of reuse commodity chains, their societal benefits and contributions to a more sustainable circular economy. Drawing on case study research with charitable and community reuse organisations, factors facilitating or inhibiting reuse will be identified, and rigorous methods developed for assessing the benefits of reuse organisations in terms of quantities of materials processed, employment, skills development and contributions to regional economic development. Research outputs will provide a sound evidence base for government policy and decision-making and strengthen conceptual understanding of drivers and enablers of reuse and links with broader economic activities. Read moreRead less