Board representatives and directors of the Consortium of Integrated Resource Management (CIRM) met at CQU Rockhampton this week.

For the meeting coordinated by CQU's Institute of Sustainable Regional Development, visitors included UQ Senior DVC Professor Paul Greenfield, DPI&F Chief Scientist Dr Joe Baker, NRM&E Executive Director Chris Robson, CQU DVC Professor Jim Mienczakowski, CSIRO's Dr Brian Keating, Griffith University DVC Professor Brian Head, JCU DVC Professor Norman Palmer, ISRD Executive Director Professor Bob Miles and CIRM Executive Officer Ian Gordon.

The CIRM board and directors met regional representatives of CIRM partners, and of industry and regional bodies with an interest in NRM. They also met senior academic and research leaders from CQU before lunching with Vice-Chancellor Professor Glenice Hancock and conducting a CIRM board meeting.

CIRM is a partnership across seven organisations. It operates as a formal linkage mechanism for facilitating the planning and coordination of collaboration of R&D initiatives across the partners. The seven partner organisations are three Queensland Government Departments (Natural Resources and Mines, Primary Industries and the Environmental Protection Agency), three Universities (University of Queensland, Griffith University and Central Queensland University) and CSIRO. CIRM was formed in 1993.

The CIRM Board acts as a reference group for CIRM’s activities, and is composed of the CEOs (or their nominees) of each of the partner organisations.

Because it is a process rather than an entity in its own right, CIRM does not undertake the activities of a centre or other formalised institutional structure. Nor should it be seen as in any way competing with, or usurping the role of, individual partners or their key staff. Rather, its aims are collaboration, brokerage, communication and a shared approach to common issues.

Each partner has a senior staff member who represents its partner agency in CIRM at the operational level. This group of “CIRM Directors” looks at strategies, linkages and opportunities, funding options, skills and expertise to encourage more integrated and synergistic approaches to identified priority issues. CIRM seeks opportunities to deliver more integrated and holistic outcomes.

CIRM undertakes much of its activity through its working groups, which are also composed of representatives of all the CIRM partners. CIRM currently has working groups for salinity, social and community dimensions, aquatic ecosystems and vegetation management and is about to establish a water use and reuse working group.

More information may be found at www.cirm.org.au