Congratulations to CMS members Dr Chloe Lucas and Dr Phillipa McCormack on receiving 2025 ARC DECRA (Discovery Early Career Researcher Award)!
CMS also wants to recognise the academics that worked hard on good proposals that were unfortunately not successful – we know how much work and hope goes into these!
Dr Phillipa McCormack was awarded $482,990.
Project Summary: Preparing Australia for a fiery future: Five strategies to guide law reform. Australia does not have the necessary legal frameworks to proactively mitigate bushfire risks. This project aims to support effective, equitable, and timely fire mitigation through law reform. By pioneering holistic assessment of adaptation in state fire laws, and drawing novel insights from international case studies (Canada, Spain and USA) and active stakeholder input, expected outcomes include practical pathways for law reform and new international networks for exchanging knowledge. Outputs to guide more effective implementation of evidence-based legal reform are expected to assist policy makers to enact improved fire prevention, benefitting fire agencies, communities, and ecosystems to thrive in a future increasingly defined by fire.”
Dr Chloe Lucas was awarded $487,736.
Project Summary: Helping Citizens Share Responsibility for Democratic Climate Adaptation. This project will create new tools to help citizens participate in democratic dialogue about climate change adaptation. Climate change impacts the lives of Australians, including through more frequent and intense bushfires, floods, heatwaves, droughts and storms. However, most citizens are not given the opportunity to be involved in government decisions about how to plan for and manage these risks. This project explores games and play-based forms of group deliberation as ways to engage a wide range of citizens in setting agendas for climate adaptation policy and planning. It will identify diverse perspectives and priorities, and start place-based conversations between citizens and governments about how to thrive in a climate-changed world.
See all successful projects here: https://rms.arc.gov.au/RMS/Report/Download/Report/a3f6be6e-33f7-4fb5-98a6-7526aaa184cf/265
