The Research Partners Program (RPP) is a collaborative partnership involving Parks Victoria, universities and other research institutions.

Through the RPP, Parks Victoria and researchers undertake applied research to improve park management and ecological understanding.

The objectives of the RPP are to:

• Improve understanding of the natural values of the park system
• Build a strong body of knowledge to guide park management
• Encourage and support research into park management
• Encourage collaboration in scientific research and enable scientists and park managers to work together to enhance protection of parks.

Research is conducted with members of the Research Partners Panel which includes:

• Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Management (Department of Environment and Primary Industries)
• Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology (Royal Botanic Gardens and the University of Melbourne)
• Charles Sturt University
• Deakin University
• La Trobe University
• Monash University
• Primary Industries Research Victoria (Department of Environment and Primary Industries)
• RMIT University
• The University of Ballarat
• The University of Melbourne

How the RPP works

RPP brings together the scientific skills of our research partners with the park management skills of Parks Victoria.

There is collaboration at all levels - from project inception through to completion. This ensures projects provide answers to important questions for Parks Victoria while meeting the needs and interests of the researcher undertaking the research.

The scale of research ranges from short to long-term projects, integrating multiple projects and involving researchers from several institutions.

While most research is completed in collaboration with RPP members, we also commission specific research and work with other institutions when the research topic is specifically aligned with Parks Victoria’s needs or where expertise is not available.

Program benefits

The RPP makes a big difference to park management through:

• Improving knowledge and guiding state-wide and local-scale management decisions
• Improving the effectiveness of management programs
• Developing strong relationships between Parks Victoria and researchers
• Attracting additional support from funding bodies or other agencies which allows large, more complex research projects than Parks Victoria or our partners could achieve alone
• Contributing to ecological research and education - almost 300 projects initiated since the RPP began in 2000, over 150 post-graduate student projects supported, scientific publications and conference papers peer reviewed.

Related documents

• List of research projects