Challenge

Agriculture is a major contributor to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, and achieving net-zero targets requires coordinated action across industry, community, and government. The University of Queensland sought to establish the Cooperative Research Centre for Zero Net Emissions from Agriculture (ZNE-Ag CRC) to catalyse innovation and collaboration aimed at achieving zero net emissions by 2040 and below-zero by 2050. The challenge was to design a compelling bid that demonstrated national impact and united diverse stakeholders in a long-term research and implementation partnership.

Approach

CIS was engaged as Bid Consultants to provide comprehensive support across both application stages. Our role included:

• Bid design and leadership of all written components for Stage 1 and Stage 2.

• Development of research, education, and training programs aligned with the CRC’s objectives.

• Project management and stakeholder engagement to coordinate contributions from partners.

• Strategic advice to strengthen the bid’s competitiveness and ensure alignment with program requirements.

Outcome

The ZNE Ag CRC was awarded $87 million in Australian Government funding over ten years, with total investment reaching $300.9 million through partner contributions. The CRC will develop, de-risk and scale combinations of technologies on our network of producer sites, to reduce methane emissions from grazing cattle and sheep, and develop farm system strategies to reduce emissions from broadacre and horticulture value chains. The CRC will deliver standardised, trusted guidelines, metrics, and benchmarking tools to monitor on-farm emissions. Together, CRC partners will accelerate Australian agriculture’s transition to net zero and beyond by 2050.