Cotton Catchment Communities CRC Communities Workshop contributing to natural resource policy

1. Cotton Catchment Communities CRCCommunities Workshopcontributing to natural resource policy 24 February 2009 www.triplehelix.com.au

2. “Dreaming the ideal” Socio-economic impact NRM policy The intersections between them Influencing policy Outline

3. What would success look like? CCCCRC would: know its catchments & communities backwards and inside-out “mutually beneficial interactions” be the ‘go to’ organisation for all socio-economic impact data, for locals and outsiders build a lasting legacy of communities knowledge with durable, long-term knowledge custodianship sorted engage, employ or know the key experts at the interface between policy and regions become a valued knowledge platformthat persists beyond CRC program funding Dreaming the ideal

4. First understand the local community Key trends Factors affecting those trends Demographics Who lives here and why? how do they make a living? Drivers of community vitality, economic activity, employment Vulnerabilities What could weaken drivers or impose new costs? Socio-economic impact

5. A much-used term — the new sustainability? Like sustainability: spongy, ambiguous, slippery concept but useful at its core Resilience is a crucial parameter in a highly variable system the ability to recover, to bounce back, without loss of fundamental capacity or key characteristics Key elements of resilience: diversity (of industries, revenue, people etc) skills & capacity adaptability, flexibility, nimbleness Resilience

6. A curious choice for this workshop? why not education, or infrastructure, or employment, or population, or trade policy? Does not occur in a vacuum Responds to 3 key drivers: Natural resource condition & trends Driven by climate and use pressures (consumption) Stakeholder pressures/noise Political commitments & momentum These tend to influence each other,usually with a time lag NRM Policy

7. First, understand the drivers behind the particular policy E.g. for water policy, understand trends in both supply & demand and how they relate to both the National Water Initiative (NWI) and the new Basin Plan Second, understand how policy is both interpreted and implementedin cotton catchments Anticipating and Influencing NRM Policy

8. 1. clear and nationally-compatible characteristics for secure water access entitlements; 2. transparent, statutory-based water planning; 3. statutory provision for environmental and other public benefit outcomes, and improved environmental management practices; 4. complete the return of all currently over-allocated or overused systems to environmentally-sustainable levels of extraction; 5. progressive removal of barriers to trade in water and meeting other requirements to facilitate the broadening and deepening of an open trading water market; 6. clarity around the assignment of risk arising from future changes in the availability of water for the consumptive pool; 7. water accounting able to meet the information needs of different water systems in respect to planning, monitoring, trading, environmental management and on-farm; 8. policy that facilitates water use efficiency and innovation in urban and rural areas; addressing future adjustment issues that may impact on water users and communities; recognition of the connectivity between surface and groundwater resources and connected systems managed as a single resource. The National Water Initiative

9. Water policy literacy is essential, but not sufficient Carbon, water, energy & food are converging as policy challenges These have major implications: for e.g. infrastructure, education, health, planning etc These are fast-moving policy domains Governments are struggling as well as communities Get on front foot, not too narrow in looking for support e.g. 2nd generation biofuels R&D program cool communities, schools programs Other NRM policy issues

10. It’s a crowded space, so understand where you fit, and collaborate where possible No point pressuring one level of government if decisions are made elsewhere Analyse carefully so you can’t be brushed off Try to think through so that you can initiate projects that meet local needs while consistent with high level policy settings go upwards with solutions, not problems or wish lists Influencing NRM Policy

11. Australian Greenhouse Office • R&D Corporations • Cotton • Fisheries • Forest and Wood Products • Grains • Grape and Wine • Land & Water Australia • Rural Industries • Sugar Australian Bureau of Statistics CSIRO ANU Community Landcare groups Geoscience Australia Horticulture Australia Hobby Farmers Regional NRM Bodies Knowledge Generation and Management Knowledge Adoption Universities Water Authorities Australian Wool Innovation Australian Pork Limited Indigenous Communities Some components of the Australian NRM Knowledge System Commercial Advisory Services Indigenous Land Corporation • Cooperative Research Centres • E-Water • Plant based Management of Dryland Salinity • Irrigation Futures • Weed Management • Tropical Savannas Management • Australasian Invasive Animals • Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management • Cotton Catchment Communities • Desert Knowledge • Greenhouse Accounting • Sustainable Forest Landscapes • Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration Commercial Farmers Meat and Livestock Australia Local Governments Community Water Grants Australian Govt NRM Facilitators State NRM & Ag Agencies National Land and Water Resources Audit Rural residential National Landcare Program Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry Envirofund Natural Heritage Trust Dairy Australia Department of Environment and Heritage National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality Policy and Programs National Water Commission Legend Departments of State (FMA Act) Statutory Agencies (FMA Act) within portfolios Statutory Agencies (CAC Act) within portfolios Corporatised R&D Corporations (Statutory Funding Agreement) Funding Programs Bureau of Rural Sciences Productivity Commission National Water Initiative Coastcare Bushcare

12. The Science-Policy Interface • Contested, crowded, contextual • Stakes high, decisions urgent, facts uncertain or disputed • Science thrives on a contest of ideas • This can be problematic in public debate • Public officials just one of many sources of advice • Durable relationships are critical • Ministers/governments need wins, credit, initiatives • Not problems, conflict, confusion

13. Policy makers • Are time-poor, information-overloaded people who don’t read anything unless they have to; • Only know what they need to know when they need to know it • Have a very short-term, reactive perspective • Must be able to summarise info <1 page for Minister • Averse to anything too complicated • Default to trusted sources, often in-house, even when they know those sources are out of date or incomplete • Often have a jaundiced opinion of science, believing it is: • too slow and too expensive • answering questions that no-one has asked, usually accompanied by requests for more funding

14. Infiltrating Power with ScienceTips, Tools & Tricks • 100 Key Influencers list, constantly updated • including rising stars and Minister’s ‘kitchen cabinet’ • Respect the ‘no surprises’ rule always • Synthesis products - distilled, digestible information targeted to end-user needs • Timing is everything, and face to face is best • Breakfasts, face to face briefings (facilitated one to one), field days • Develop adoptability filters • Employ knowledge brokers

15. Infiltrating Power with Science— thinking about the research process • Work hard to define the knowledge need — with close involvement of end users (policy, industry, management etc) • Distil the key research questions and scope the work • Investigate possible collaborations • Identify the necessary mix of disciplines • Think about the form of funding • Commissioning vs contestable • Project vs program (cluster of related projects) • Some form of Fellowship? • And knowledge & adoption plan

16. “Droplets” www.myoung.net.au • a good example of a knowledge synthesis product • Others include Pannell Discussions and IACRC (Tony Peacock’s blog) • science for water policy - funded by LWA and CSIRO • developed by Prof Mike Young, Adelaide University • designed to get science into difficult policy issues quickly • critical timing and no surprises • influential already, even when unpopular

17. Identify potential allies and try to get them in the tent Ditto potential blockers - try to at least neutralise them Foster alliances across organisational boundaries that mean much more than just chasing $$ Network relentlessly (Re)invest constantly in skills, capacity, leadership Systems make it possible, peoplemake it happen. Influencing NRM Policy (II)

18. What would success look like? CCCCRC would: know its catchments & communities backwards and inside-out be the ‘go to’ organisation for all socio-economic impact data, for locals and outsiders build a lasting legacy of communities knowledge with durable, long-term knowledge custodianship sorted engage, employ or know the key experts at the interface between policy and regions become a valued knowledge platformthat persists beyond CRC program funding Dreaming the ideal

19. An NRM policy wiki for cotton (northern irrigated cropping?) catchments Community (full sense) skills audit (build a wider network) Regional leadership courses targeted at e.g. local govt, CMAs, community groups, young talent from the region (including people who have moved away) Experiment with web 2.0 social networking tools “mutually beneficial interactions” implies two-way communication — keep the boundaries porous & active fund the arrows, not just the boxes Flying some kites

20. For more infoincluding detailed background papers www.triplehelix.com.au