NSW researchers triumphant at national innovation awards

Two of Australia’s most highly regarded innovation awards, made by the Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Association, were made recently to two areas of innovation in which the NSW DPI plays a leading role.

Two NSW DPI scientists based at Armidale, Dr Peter Parnell and Dr Garry Griffith, played lead roles in the ‘adoption’ project which earned the Beef CRC an award for excellence in education & training & public outreach activities.

The award was made for an innovative system to boost profitability of small and medium sized enterprises through new technology that is helping Australia remain the world’s biggest beef exporter.

The ‘adoption’ component of the award refers to the “Beef Profit Partnerships” project, a major program headed by Dr Parnell which involves training facilitators to achieve increased adoption of beef research by industry.

The “Beef Profit Partnerships” project is also supported by Dr Griffith, a senior NSW DPI economist, whose research was critical to the recent successful bid for the third successive Beef CRC, known as the Beef Genetic Technologies CRC.

The second innovation award, in recognition in adoption and end use of research went to the ‘Sustainable Grazing for Saline Lands’ project and associated Grazing Systems teams run under the auspices of the Salinity CRC.

Salinity CRC activities in NSW are coordinated by NSW DPI.

Core research sites in NSW were led by Dr Warren King (recently replaced by Dr Warwick Badgery) and producer network sites are led by Luke Beange.

Since 1990 the CRC national program is estimated to have contributed nearly $2.7 billion to Australia’s Gross Domestic Product, and we are enormously proud that NSW DPI is so integrally involved with it.

NSW DPI is a partner in 17 CRCs across the nation and makes a major financial and intellectual contribution to the network’s success.

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