Special Sessions
July 9-11, 2025
Geelong, Australia
Attendees of Drought Resilience 2025 will have the opportunity to take part in a range of special sessions, including discussion panels, symposia and workshops. These special sessions focus on a range of topics including effective collaboration with farming groups, communities and government; cross-disciplinary research; stakeholder engagement and consultation; extension, adoption and communication of research outcomes and more. Special sessions provide an enhanced opportunity to hear from and interact with experts and engage in discussions about key issues and opportunities for drought resilience research.
1 hour
From research to impact: The role of farmer networks in resilience and innovation
Farming systems groups, producer networks, grower groups – whatever we call them and whatever shape they take – play a critical role in rural communities. Groups contribute to social connection, support collaborative problem solving, and facilitate access to different knowledge and ideas. From an agricultural research or policy perspective, groups are (or could be) critical partners in defining research needs, testing and adapting research outputs to practical realities, and a mechanism to support promotion, adaptation, and use of research. There is, of course, no one model or structure for these groups. Each state or region has its own history, geography, and experiences that have led to a diverse landscape of formal and informal institutions with which to collaborate as part of supporting Australia’s agricultural sector.
This session draws on the collective experience of the Future Drought Fund’s Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs' knowledge brokers to explore:
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The role of farmer groups in supporting innovation and resilience,
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Different models, maturity, and organisation of groups across the country, and
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What this means for how and why we engage with groups to support and facilitate on-ground practice change.
1 hour
Parched: Cultures of drought in regional Victoria
Presenters in this panel are members of the interdisciplinary research project ‘Parched: Cultures of Drought in Regional Victoria’ that has been funded under the Australian Research Council Special Research Initiative. The project brings together scholars from the environmental humanities, media, creative arts and climate science to expand knowledge of how we can better adapt to the environments on which we depend. Concentrating on four Victorian regions and their NSW borderlands – Mildura, Bendigo, Albury/Wodonga and Shepparton, we explore the historic, artistic, media, cultural and scientific aspects of past and present droughts: Federation (1895–1903), World War II (1937–1945), the Millennium (1997–2009), and the Tinderbox (2017–2019). Our research and oral history interviews have been deployed by artists-in-residence to develop place-based responses to drought which have been exhibited in regional galleries and venues in Victoria. The four individual presentations will be followed by reflections from the team on their collaboration, focusing in particular on how they have integrated their diverse disciplinary expertise into the project, and how this has shaped the project outcomes.
1 hour
Collaboration in practice
Collaboration is widely encouraged in academia, industry, and government-led projects, but not all collaborations are effective or necessary. In some cases, working in a cooperative or coordinated manner may be more cost-effective and impactful than full-scale collaboration. Poorly structured partnerships can be resource-intensive, time-consuming, and may not deliver the intended outcomes.
This interactive workshop is designed for academics working in inter-organisational research (IOR). It provides practical tools and self-assessment methods to help participants evaluate their current collaborative capacity and identify areas for improvement.
30 minutes
Science needs to support Murray-Darling Basin policy
This panel discussion will bring together policy makers from the MDBA and Basin States with researchers from the Murray-Darling Water and Environment Research Program (MD-WERP) to discuss science needs from the perspective of policy makers and how MD-WERP and other research programs are meeting these research needs.
1 hour
Effective collaboration and interdisciplinary work in drought resilience: insights for impactful research practices
Collaboration is key to impactful research, but what makes it successful? This session presents case studies, frameworks and real-world experiences to provide insights into what works - and why - in research collaborations for drought resilience.
With a focus cross-sector and interdisciplinary partnerships, the case studies will be profiled focusing on work across states, industries and institutions. The session will profile the insights, tips and pitfalls to avoid in interdisciplinary collaboration as a researcher. Engage with expert presentations and contribute to a dynamic roundtable discussion to exchange insights and plan future approaches to tackle complex challenges together.