Central Australian Research Group (CARG)

The Central Australian Research Group is based at the Alice Springs campus of the Charles Darwin University. It comprises CDU researchers and graduate students, with support from independent researchers, researchers from other universities based in Alice Springs for a prolonged period and government and NGO officials who have applied research roles.

The vision of the Research Group is to maximize the research capacity resident in Alice Springs. Its objectives are to form multi-disciplinary research teams to carry out research as well as to host seminars, workshops and public lectures that will contribute to the public policy process and general community education.

The strategic focus of CARG for the period 2010-2014 is around the development of the communities and economies of remote Australia, with a particular focus on Indigenous development.

The main research themes at present sponsored by CARG are:

• the integration of environmental management with socio-economic frameworks
• understanding and valuing natural ecosystems
• community resilience and adaptation
• improved government engagement in service delivery processes and outcomes.

Currently there are eight postgraduate students based at the CDU Alice Springs campus.

Group members

• Professor Rolf Gerritsen, Research Leader Central Australia
• Dr Christine Schlesinger, Lecturer in Ecology and Environmental Science (affiliated to School of Environmental and Life Sciences)
• Mr Mathew Campbell, Research Officer, Remote Services
• Dr Benxiang Zeng, Research Fellow
• Dr Richard Head, Language and Learning (TEP)

Contact

For more information about CARG contact the Business Development Officer:

Mona Ulak
Alice Springs Campus
Phone: 8959 5391
Email: mona.ulak@cdu.edu.au