Much of Australia's wealth is created in our remote regions, yet many of the people who live there are excluded from the economy. The impact of this on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in particular is acknowledged by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) as a national policy priority through the National Indigenous Reform Agreement (Closing the Gap).
The CRC-REP will be a collaborative research platform that works with communities, businesses and people in remote regions of Australia to systemically investigate and provide practical responses to the complex issues that drive economic participation.
Research at CRC-REP is represented by three programs:
Research Program 1: Regional Economies
The research from this program will build robust regional economies across remote Australia through our partners in government, industry and communities. This will provide the sustainable employment and enterprise opportunities vital to increasing the level of economic participation for remote Australians.
Outputs
- Predictive model of remote area micro-level mobility for service delivery and labour planning
- Data on the size and flows of costs and benefits generated by mining operations
- Models on how to maximise the regional impact of mining
- Case studies and methods for communities to manage risks and become resilient over the lifecycle of a mining operation
- An input-output model of remote Australia
- Case studies and pathways to alternative climate change and energy futures
- At least 7 post-graduate students; 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people trained as paid field researchers; 5 honours, VET or vacation students.
Research Projects
- Population Mobility and Labour Markets
- Enduring Community Value from Mining
- Energy Futures and Climate Adaptation in Remote Australia
Research Program 2: Enterprise Development
The research from this program will create successful models for SMEs that are appropriate to remote locations and inclusive of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. It will facilitate their survival and growth in the long term so that they can employ more people in remote Australia, providing the ‘engine room' for jobs and livelihoods. It will address barriers to growth, such as distance from markets, fragile or faulty supply chains and the scope for efficiencies to overcome high production costs.
Outputs
- New management tools for more efficient and precise pastoral enterprise management.
- A model of the development of commercially valuable plants that is acceptable to Aboriginal people and culture that can be applied to a wide range of prospective plant species
- Effective value chain models for Aboriginal art and tourism, harnessing new market opportunities
- Models of new business opportunities for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people using cultural assets
- Training and mentoring packages
- At least 11 post-graduate students; 20 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people trained as paid field researchers, 5 honours, VET or vacation students.
Research Projects
- Aboriginal Cultural Enterprise
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Economies
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tourism Product
- Carbon Economies in Remote Australia
- Plant Business
- Precision Pastoral Management Tools
Research Program 3: Investing in People
There are complex challenges in improving pathways for remote Australians through education and training to employment and enterprise development. Soft-system approaches linked with the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework will be used to interpret the complex factors leading to chronic educational and employment disadvantage.
Outputs
- An assessment of the interrelationships and interplay between education, employment, health and wellbeing including the effectiveness of targeted interventions.
- Systemic understanding of effective pathways to work and enterprise.
- Education models that identify strategic interventions and strategies to improve the remote education system.
- At least 7 post-graduate students; 20 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people trained as paid field researchers, 5 honours, VET or vacation students.
Research Projects
- Pathways to Employment
- Interplay Between Health, Wellbeing, Education and Employment
- Remote Education Systems
