The Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI) was relaunched last week with an updated remit and a broader network of partners.
The CRCSI 2 will expand from 50 partners to 110, including 70 companies, 20 research agencies and 20 government agencies.
It will feature an expanded small business network, known as the 43 pl consortium, and will have a slight shift in the focus of its research activities.
New South Wales chief scientist Mary O’Kane said the body was “the same, but different”.
“While in many ways it’s similar, there are many wonderful new things about [CRCSI2]. We have a particular emphasis on improving the quality of the core research,” she said.
The CRCSI 2 will also bulk up its education programme, open a new energy college, and focus on improved health planning, aiding a desired shift in government from clinical to preventative health.
The previous incarnation of the CRCSI featured two successful commercial spinouts, Scanalyze and iintegrate.
Margaret Sheil, chief executive of the Australia Research Council, welcomed the CRCSI’s work.
“The CRCSI has clearly done a tremendous job at bringing together partners to address some of the critical spatial information issues facing Australia,” she said.
Sheil said she hoped the new CRCSI would provide particular benefits to the defence, intelligence, and environmental research sectors.
