Greg Leach and Jessica Wallwork

Preferred presentation format: refereed paper

Affiliation(s): (1)Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines

(2) Coastal Zone Estuaries and Waterways Cooperative Research Centre.

	Title: Greg Leach Position: Natural Resource Officer Organisation: Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, and Coastal Zone Estuaries and Waterways Cooperative Research Centre. Indooroopilly Sciences Centre Contact email: Greg.Leach@ nrm.qld.gov.au Contact phone: 07 38969659
	Title: Jessica Wallwork Position: Natural Resource Officer Organisation: Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, and Coastal Zone Estuaries and Waterways Cooperative Research Centre. Indooroopilly Sciences Centre Contact email: wallworkj@nrm.qld.gov.au Contact phone: 07 38969293

Key Words: Facilitate, Negotiate, Conflict, Participatory Research, Adaptive Management

The Decision Frameworks Theme in the Coastal Cooperative Research Centre coordinated a review of participatory research in the collaborative partnership from 2000 to 2003. Inquiry processes through this period revealed that the majority of researchers and stakeholders in the Coastal CRC are supportive of increased participation in research activities. In spite of this there are a wide range of understandings and applications of participatory research practice by researchers and stakeholders in CRC research. A key recommendation from this review is that extension specialists with skills in facilitation, relationship development and negotiation be employed to improve the negotiation of participation in CRC research; facilitation of team based decision-making and research; provide professional support for relationships (particularly those where conflicting paradigms and/or personalities prove to be significant barriers to effective participatory research); and advocate participatory research outcomes to external stakeholders and clients. The review also identified key motivations for participatory research in the Coastal CRC, namely; institutional, community, academic, self and team motivations. Extension specialists will use social and people processes and skills to enable researchers and stakeholders alike to capture and build on these motivations themselves and negotiate a working agreement (and definition) of effective participatory research in the Coastal CRC. In doing this they will optimise participatory research in the Coastal CRC as well as facilitating the application of adaptive management principles in second round projects, a participatory, negotiated, learning approach to research in the Coastal Zone.

Key learning points

• Extension skills and professionals will improve participatory research processes and outcomes in collaborative research arrangements.
• Extension has a key role in enabling the effective application of adaptive management principles to natural resource management research and science.
• Collaborative research institutions/arrangements need to fund development of extension skills in participatory research processes and programs.