Dear Members of SFSS,

We are pleased to inform you that the University of Queensland, University of Tasmania, Griffith University and CSIRO are joining forces to bid for a Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), a 10-year $200 million industry led research collaboration which aims to enhance Australia’s integrated seafood and renewable energy production systems. Based on our past dialogues with organisations in the offshore engineering sector, the core partners understand that there is interest in participating in the CRC, but the level of contributions to be a core participant are too high. Consequently, we have created the Consulting SME Cohort as an alternative investment vehicle.

To build capacity and capability in the sector, the CRC needs a cohort of consulting organisations with expertise in off-shore engineering. We hope that your organisation will consider to be a participating organisation in the CRC. Choosing to participate in the CRC will bring your organisation multiple benefits including:

• Direct access to innovative organisations in emerging sectors seeking to develop and scale open ocean aquaculture with integrated renewable energy generation;
• Participation in the CRC’s Education and Training program. Your staff can participate in training programs on topics such as OH&S, new evidence based solutions to address off-shore engineering challenges, up-to-date legislation and regulatory issues, and learn more about the renewable energy and aquaculture sector.
• Access to the CRC’s post-graduate and post-doctoral community. With a culture of industry engagement and innovation, these experts will be highly valued SME employees.
• An opportunity to collaborate with other CRC members to form highly skilled and leading edge consortiums that have the capacity and capability to support large commercial projects for national and international clients.
• An opportunity to showcase your capabilities to emerging leaders in the blue economy sector and to develop new business opportunities.
• An opportunity to participate in research projects, co-fund industry placed PhD candidates and gain access to project IP.
• An opportunity to leverage cash contributions 2 to 1, meaning that your organisation receives an additional dollar on top of each dollar contributed for your research activities. In addition, your organisation gains access other participants’ resources and infrastructure to support the research activities.
• An opportunity to provide input into the direction of the CRC’s activities and to nominate a board member to represent the combined interests of the consulting engineering cohort; and
• Assistance, where relevant, with commercialisation of CRC IP, identification of commercial opportunities, assistance with commercial proposals and grant applications, and assistance claiming the R&D tax incentive (if eligible).

CRC participation requires cash and in-kind contributions. As noted earlier, we recognise that the sector is finding it difficult to commit as core partners which requires large cash contributions, yet, the companies we have met with are willing to participate as they recognise the potential benefits. As such, by participating in the CRC’s Consulting SME Cohort you can still achieve the benefits described above. Participants wanting to contribute to research activities will sign Project Agreements once the CRC is established and receive a 2:1 return on the cash contribution towards those research activities. Other organisations, not wanting to participate in research activities can join for a lesser amount and still receive many benefits. The size of the cash and in-kind contributions are dependent upon your involvement and may change over the ten year period as projects start and end.

An example of contributions is:

• A $50,000 cash contribution per annum (cash contribution is negotiable and reflective of the degree of participation);
• In-kind contributions, which can be staff time, consumables, infrastructure and equipment. For example, staff time may be 0.2FTE of a lead engineer/s directly involved in CRC activities. Eligible CRC activities include attendance at CRC planning meetings, participation in workshops, delivering research and development activities, co-supervision of an industry based PhD candidate; participation in CRC training programs. Non staff in-kind may include overheads for cash funded staff conducting research activities, consumables, costs associated with travel to CRC meetings and conferences, and access to infrastructure and equipment.

Your contribution will most likely be eligible for a R&D tax incentive, which is a government program that provides a tax benefit to help offset some of the costs of conducting eligible research and development activities. We encourage participants to join the CRC for the ten-year period and for the purposes of the application, commit to consistent contributions. Once the CRC is established participants can exit, re-enter and adjust contributions as appropriate.

Attached is the information you need to further consider this unique opportunity. Items include:

• A Blue Economy CRC Prospectus
• A contribution form to record cash and in-kind contributions and company details required for the application;
• A participant declaration form which must be attached with the CRC application
• A participant declaration information sheet
• The CRC Program Guidelines

 

Next Steps

The CRC Program recently opened and Stage 1 applications are due by the 3^rd July. We have engaged Consulting & Implementation Services (CIS) and Scott Grierson Consulting to support development of a competitive CRC application, and they will be in contact with you at various stages to assist you throughout the process.

Articulate your organisation’s research interests

We ask that you provide approximately half a page that describes your research interests and the research outputs your organisation wants from the CRC. Irene and Stuart will follow up with you to discuss.

What: Half page describing desired research outputs

Email to i.penesis@utas.edu.au

Provide contributions and signed declaration

If you decide that your organisation will participate in the CRC, we need the contribution form (attached) completed and the declaration (attached) signed and completed. If you need any help with either of these items please call or email Bernadette Spinks, CIS:

Email: bernspinks@consultingis.com.au

Phone: 03 9081 0412

Mobile: 0413 455 529

What: Completed contribution form and completed and signed declaration

When: 8 June

Email forms to bernspinks@consultingis.com.au

We look forward to further engagements with you and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any query.  Note that if the CRC bid is successful, the projects will only start in mid 2019. At this stage only the participant declaration is needed.

Best regards,

C.M. Wang

TMR Chair Professor in Structural Engineering

School of Civil Engineering

The University of Queensland

St Lucia, Queensland 4072

Australia

E-mail: cm.wang@uq.edu.au