2019-05-07 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                        7 MAY 2019


2.     Discussion

The CSIRO report on Stage 1 (Attachment 1) identifies and provides case studies of three types
of ‘Sustainability Institutes’ – University led, community led and a business-led structure. The
community institutes focus on building sustainability in the local community while the University
institutes are more intent on providing a research focus for students and staff and education of
students. The business-led Institutes operate on a greater fee for service model. Numerous
Australian and International models were considered in the CSIRO report however none of the
institutes examined were considered to provide an absolute match or fit for a Noosa specific
Institute. Instead a range of points were able to be garnered from across the examples
examined.

Further to the examples considered by CSIRO, staff identified a range of local sustainability
initiatives, organisations and activity already underway in Noosa. It could be said that across
organisations such as Council, NBRF, and ZEN Inc. and many Natural Resource Management
groups there is already a version of a community led model of sustainability operating.
Furthermore, the USC Sustainability Centre has in the past been a good example of a University
led model and the Cleantech Industries Sunshine Coast group is an example of a sustainability
business cluster.

The information collated from the search of existing international and Australian institutes
combined with the information from the community interviews and Council staff feedback were
used by CSIRO to develop three options for a potential Noosa Sustainability Institute model. The
models have been structured from a virtual model through to a version that proposes oversight
by a formal Board with a strongly structured research agenda.

The full report on Stage 1 investigation into the concept of a Sustainability Institute provides
greater detail in the overall analysis of all models and case studies. The following critical success
factors and key points for consideration (referred to as danger points in the full report) emerged
from the analysis;

Critical Success Factors for a research/sustainability Institute are:
    The involvement of one or more research entities (e.g., Universities or Government Research
     agencies) that provide a strong research basis for the institute.
    A strong boundary and definition of the area of research or problem/challenge to focus
     research activities, thus maximising research outcomes and uptake.
    The potential for a physical presence as a focal point for the research and to guide
     community engagement.
    A well organised means of storing research data and sharing the research learnings with
     other projects within the Institute and with other entities.
    Strong community engagement, both in helping guide the development or selection of
     research subjects, as well as by assisting researchers through direct engagement in research
     projects (i.e., citizen science).
    A broad funding base, in particular using funding sources such as a café, market garden,
     native nursery etc. to assist funding the base operation of an institute if having a physical
     presence.




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