Expanding research cooperation between regional Australia & Southeast Asia

Under its Enabling Growth and Innovation program the Department aimed at expanding research collaboration between regional Australia and Southeast Asia. The project aims to increase the diversity and sustainability of Australia’s international research cooperation activities and help build research capability within Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. We worked with the Department on potential changes to the project plan as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on international travel which prevented researchers from travelling to meet with their collaborating partners. The pandemic required a significant pivot in our approach to this work, demonstrating our flexibility and creativity in dealing with unforeseen events.

For this project, six teams from four Australian regional universities were awarded grants by the Department to develop collaborative research activities with colleagues in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Our report illustrated the possibilities that emerged as the teams grappled with the many challenges that arose as they revised their plans and formed partnerships from a distance. The report included a set of guiding principles for building research partnerships focused particularly on strategies reported in case studies prepared by the project teams.