CDU collaborates on new pathways for Northern development

The importance of research to inform decision-making is being highlighted by leading academics from Charles Darwin University participating in the Northern Development Summit in Townsville today and tomorrow.
 
Northern Institute Director Professor Ruth Wallace, National Environmental Research Program Director Professor Michael Douglas, and Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods Director Professor Andrew Campbell, at CDU, have collaborated on the “Myth to Reality: New Pathways for Northern Development”, the background paper to the Summit. Professors Wallace, Douglas and Campbell co-authored the paper with leading academics from James Cook University and the University of Western Australia.
 
Deputy Vice-Chancellor of CDU Professor Sharon Bell said the paper emphasised the importance of a research evidence base in defining, evaluating and securing development opportunities in the North.
 
“Building the evidence base and finding more effective pathways for policy development and planning means replacing the grand myths of Northern development with research and informed, joint decision-making,” Professor Bell said.
 
“CDU’s track record of research and collaboration in the North, as well as our proximity to south-east Asia, enables us to contribute a unique and vital perspective to this discussion.”
 
The Northern Development Summit is an initiative of the ADC Forum, a non-political, not-for-profit leadership organisation. The Summit brings together an extensive group of Australian and international leaders and thinkers to develop a shared vision and action plan for Australia’s vast Northern regions.
 
The Summit concludes tomorrow, June 28. For information visit W: www.cdu.edu.au/sites/default/files/research/docs/defining-the-north.pdf