Community Engagement and Partnerships

As a Platinum member of the Committee for Adelaide, Flinders University is heavily involved in the SA Zero initiative. This initiative is Adelaide’s’ first net zero cluster for public-private-academia collaboration with the mission to accelerate South Australia’s zero carbon and zero waste pathways. 

Flinders University leads the SA Discovery Farms collaboration with the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) from the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) and 40 partners, supported through an $8 million Australian Government Future Drought Fund grant (2024–2029). Four long-term trial sites have been established (Minnipa Agricultural Centre, Loxton Research Centre, Struan Research Centre, and Turretfield Research Centre), alongside 35 commercial Innovator Sites across South Australia. These trials focus on climate-resilient practices including tailored grain and feed systems, soil health enhancement, precision livestock strategies, virtual fencing, moisture-sensing seeding, and plant genetics for drought adaptation. A co-design approach with farmers, advisers, and researchers underpins the initiative, ensuring locally relevant solutions. The project connects farming systems across multiple rainfall zones and employs a multidisciplinary team addressing agronomy, soil microbiome, hydrology, AgTech, and participatory social science.

The Department of Human Services (DHS) and Wellbeing SA collaborates with Flinders University's Centre for Social Impact (CSI) on the Secure Food Systems Project, which aims to develop a whole-of-government response to food insecurity in South Australia. Key activities include consultations with people with lived experience of food insecurity and engagement with the food relief sector to inform the creation of a discussion paper proposing evidence-based policy and actions, leading to initiatives like the Social Supermarket Program. The collaboration includes research on the role of social systems in supporting communities experiencing food insecurity.

The Goyder Institute for Water Research develops sustainable, innovative, and integrated solutions to address complex water management challenges. Through collaboration between government, industry, and leading researchers, the Institute drives evidence-based policy and tackles climate challenges, including through the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth (CLLMM) Research Centre.

The CLLMM region, a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, is home to nationally threatened and iconic species and holds deep cultural significance for the Ngarrindjeri and South-East First Nations communities.

Flinders University plays a vital role in the CLLMM Centre, supporting a locally driven[JA1]  research program that emphasises inclusivity and collaboration. The Centre actively engages First Nations peoples and regional communities in designing, delivering, and sharing knowledge to guide regional decision-making. This partnership ensures traditional knowledge informs research on climate impacts, conservation, and sustainable water management.

Projects such as Blue/Teal Carbon (climate mitigation) and Iconic Species (threatened species and biodiversity) are led by or involve Flinders researchers, staff, and students in innovative research that supports conservation and climate action.

Community engagement is central to the program, with local education initiatives, school programs aligned to the Year 10–12 SACE curriculum, volunteer opportunities, and knowledge-sharing events (including an annual science forum), designed to empower the community and promote sustainable environmental stewardship.

As one of Australia's longest-standing initiatives in disaster preparedness and resilience, the Torrens Resilience Initiative (TRI) provides evidence-based research, tools, and training to organisations, communities, and governments across Australia and the Asia-Pacific. Their work includes the Community Disaster Resilience Scorecard (implemented in councils such as Melton and Wyndham), enhancing preparedness for natural hazards, as well as providing guidance on resilient infrastructure, including for example generator selection for aged-care facilities to maintain critical services during emergencies. TRI is currently working on a co-designed Sustainability & Resilience Toolkit for Events, to support safer and adaptive event planning, and runs targeted training programs (e.g., Climate Risk and Disaster Resilience for Local Government), offering face-to-face, tailored workshops for councils to inform and support regional disaster risk management and early warning efforts. 

Flinders University’s annual Future Energy Week showcases innovation and collaboration in clean energy through panels, workshops, and keynote sessions. The event, Promoting the Future for Clean Energy, convenes leaders from government, academia, industry, and the community to explore practical pathways for decarbonisation, equitable energy transitions, and resilient infrastructure. The sessions highlight the importance of cross-sector partnerships and evidence-based approaches to accelerate progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), through renewable energy, energy efficiency, and inclusive policy design.

The College of Medicine and Public Health examined how difficulties to enter the housing market, impacts people from refugee and asylum-seeker backgrounds. They found that, with the current pressure on the housing market, resettlement becomes increasingly difficult. “The stresses of settling into a new country can be exacerbated by overcrowded, poor quality, costly or unstable housing”, says Flinders University Professor Anna Ziersch. The study provided recommendations for strategies to support refugees and asylum seekers.

In a separate project, the team reported on additional obstacles for migrant and refugee children with disabilities and their carers.