|
Project
Deliverables
The Natural
Edge Project seeks to achieve its mission through
a range of initiatives that will deliver:
Peer reviewed and endorsed material (including
books, education modules, study guides and online
resources) with a range of leaders in the field.
Short courses and training programs in partnership
with professional bodies, vocational and higher
education institutions, and organisations.
Action research projects with a range of organisations,
helping them to achieve a profitable transition
towards sustainable practice and informing TNEP research programs.
Opportunities for generational exchange and mentoring
through keynote lectures, seminars, forums and interactive
sessions with national and international leaders
and experts.
Project
Background
As the initial
team was made up of young engineers and scientists
with Charlie Hargroves,
Cheryl Desha, and James
Moody having each previously been volunteer Presidents
of state chapters of Young Engineers Australia (a
group of Engineers Australia), and Mike
Smith being active in the science community, the
logical place to start when we formed TNEP in September
2002 was the engineering professional body, the Institution
of Engineers Australia, and the leading Australian
science research body, the Commonwealth Scientific
and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
The
team approached both the Engineers Australia Director
for Engineering Practice, Martin Dwyer and the then
Director for Marketing and Communication, Steve Williamson,
with the proposal for the publication of 'The
Natural Advantage of Nations' and the response
was amazing! The Institution agreed to become the
administrative host for the project as a form of in-kind
support, providing strong accountability as to the
use of funds and also making the first financial contribution
to the project, both direct and through corporate
services, and becoming the first Foundation
Partner.
Since
this time, the members of the project have received
a great deal of mentoring and support from many of
the Institution’s leaders, such as Dr Peter
Greenwood, Doug Jones and Prof. Andrew Downing (Past
Presidents), John Boshier (ex-CEO), Barry Grear AO
(ex-CEO), and a number of staff members such as Martin
Dwyer, Steve Williamson, Paul Varsanyi, Julie Armstrong,
Ann Ryle and Peta Lindsay.
With
this strong base we then turned our attention to CSIRO
and again received a great deal of mentoring from
both Geoff McAlpine and Elizabeth Heij. CSIRO also
agreed to become a Foundation Partner and make a
strong financial contribution to the Project.
In addition to these groups, our team approached Ron
Clarke, a world-record holding Olympic athlete, who
was at the time heading up the Centre for the Encouragement
of Philanthropy in Australia (CEPA). In this group
we found a very receptive partner
The
initial support from Engineers Australia, CSIRO and
CEPA Trust our team as well as a personal contribution
from the projects co-founder, James Moody, enabled
the team to focus on the development of the publication,
'The Natural Advantage of Nations'.
The
team also gained significant support from partners
such as the RMIT Global Sustainability Unit, Queensland
EPA Sustainable Industries Division, Environment Business
Australia, Barton Group, Hatch Engineering and, through
the donation of our website, by Australian web developer
Izilla.
While developing The Natural Advantage of Nations,
the team was able to undertake an extensive programme
to meet with a range of leaders in the field, both
in Australia and internationally, to discuss the various
issues and learn from their wealth of experience and
knowledge. Following this, our team developed a précis
of the argument we intended to develop in the publication
and invited peer review and comments from our newly
formed network. Realising that we needed to ensure
the work built on from the best in the field, we approached
the likes of Amory Lovins, Hunter Lovins, Bill McDonough,
Alan AtKisson, Michael Fairbanks and David Suzuki
and were given strong support in each case, which
heavily influenced the development of the publication.
The
Project's Advisory Board
provides high level advice and mentoring, and each
of the organisations involved were invited to nominate
an operational representative to the projects Steering
Committee to provide a clear point of contact
and input on operational issues such as peer review,
the contribution of case studies and media related
material. A volunteer Working
Group was also formed to engage other young professionals
and researchers in sustainable development related
activities.
Our team is grateful for the amazing level of support
received in developing this project. In hindsight
we set ourselves a difficult task of building a network
around the development of a project and doing our
best to ensure that the key groups, peak bodies and
individuals were involved. This called for many hours
of conversation, emails, proposal writing and research,
adding significantly to our cost and time to deliver
our first publication. However, ‘the process
is as important as the product’, and the genuine
level of engagement achieved throughout the project
by undertaking such a task allowed us to build a strong
collaborative network.
With the generosity of TNEP’s partners and the
spirit of genuine partnerships we are confident that
TNEP is now a part of the move toward a sustainable
future. TNEP activities are not-for-profit, supported
initially by our founding partners, and now supported
by a range of in-kind and financial supporters and
grant providers. Such support and revenue raised is
invested directly in existing project work and the
development of initiatives - in Australia and internationally.We
hope that peak bodies globally support the genuine
initiative of its young scientists and engineers,
as CSIRO and Engineers Australia have done here in
Australia.
|