The Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation (CRC-REP) is focused on delivering solutions to the economic disadvantage that affects remote Australia. Through our research, CRC-REP provides practical responses to the complex issues that can restrict full economic participation.
We are a partnership organisation of more than 50 members. These members include the Australian Government and four state and territory governments, numerous non-government organisations, universities and other research providers, private businesses and industries from mining, pastoralism and tourism. Thirty percent of our membership comes from Aboriginal organisations and communities.
What do we do?
The CRC-REP has three goals:
- To develop new ways to build resilience and strengthen regional communities and economies across remote Australia.
- To build new enterprises and strengthen existing industries that provide jobs, livelihoods and incomes in remote areas.
- To improve the education and training pathways in remote areas so that people have better opportunities to participate in the range of economies that exist.
How do we do this?
Our ‘whole-of-system’ approach sets out to understand the key drivers and causes of economic disadvantage in remote areas and to identify successful methods to overcome them. In particular it will clarify and quantify the barriers – such as isolation, lack of job opportunities or training, high mobility, fragile supply chains, socioeconomic factors, high production costs and limited access to markets. We also focus on entities whose approaches have successfully surmounted these barriers and established robust, dynamic and viable enterprises which can serve as models and sources of inspiration to others.
Who funds us?
CRC-REP is funded through the Australian Government’s CRC Program and through cash and in-kind contributions by our partners. A ‘public good’ CRC, we began operations on 1 July 2010 and will work until 30 June 2017.
