There is a lot of practical, innovative and relevant agriculture and land management research happening in our universities.
So why don’t we hear more about it?
The main problem is that (many, not all) researchers are generally focused on publishing academic papers and winning grants to do more research. There have been limited incentives for them to co-design their projects, or share their work more broadly with the community so that it can be adopted and used in real life.
Shifting landscape
But expectations on researchers are changing. Alongside scientific excellence, there is growing pressure to show how their work delivers benefits beyond universities and academic journals.
The Translating Research into Impact program responds to this shift by supporting early career researchers (ECRs) and PhD candidates to build the skills, networks and confidence to achieve real-world outcomes.
Developed at Southern Cross University, and delivered by the NSW Decarbonisation Innovation Hub’s Land and Primary Industries Network and the Southern Queensland and Northern NSW (SQNNSW) Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, the program is training participants in research translation, stakeholder engagement and communication.
It involves 23 researchers from 10 universities, all who are looking into issues related to drought resilience, climate variability, and decarbonisation in agriculture.
Benefits for researchers and farmers
Stepheine Ukoji is a PhD candidate from Charles Sturt University who is looking at how drought and heat affects wheat crops’ response to frosts.
She was excited to be selected for the program because she has always been passionate about producing research that “speaks clearly to farmers and end-users, beyond academic jargon”.
“This opportunity aligns strongly with how I hope my work contributes to agriculture and climate-resilient food systems,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to learning, contributing, and translating research into meaningful impact.”
Longer term outcomes
Project Lead for the Translating Research into Impact program, Rebecca Lollback, said it was important for researchers to think about how their work would be used in the real world.
“In academia, there is a lot of value placed on publications and grants,” she said.
“But imagine if we also focused on different questions: Who will your research help? How are you communicating with them? What problems will it solve? What will change? Why should people care?
“Our program aims to help 23 early career researchers from 10 universities change the way they think about their work.
“As a result, important research will be shared with people who can directly benefit from it.
“We are very grateful to the members of our Impact Advisory Panel – comprised of academics, industry leaders, impact experts and researchers – who gave their time and expertise to co-design this important program.”
Impact Advisory Panel members:
- Ben Roche (chair), Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research & Education Impact), Southern Cross University
- Wade Kelly, Senior Lecturer, Researcher Development, Engagement and Impact, Researcher Development Academy, Deakin University
- Michael Katz , Chief Executive Officer, RELA
- Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez, Research Theme Fellow, Environment and Sustainability, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University
- Stephen Summerhayes, Research Innovation & Impact Lead, Food Agility CRC
- Tobias Kretzschmar, Professor for Plant Breeding and Genetics, Southern Cross University
- Diana Fear, CEO, Central West Grazing Systems
- Alana Gall, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, Southern Cross University
- Ed White, PhD candidate, Southern Cross University
- Evanna McGuinness, PhD candidate, Southern Cross University