Digital Tools and the Management of Australian Desert Aboriginal Knowledge

This is a story of my work as a member of a small group set up within the CRC to develop a scoping study of Indigenous knowledge, its role in research and its protection under law. The group has mixed Aboriginal and nonAboriginal constitution, and is still ongoing, now trying to make sure that the findings and recommendations which we develop, become ratified by the governing board of the CRC. There is reason for some concern on the part of Aboriginal desert knowledge owners, given the value of their ancestral knowledge, and the goals of the CRC, whereby “marketing the products of our unique research brand to some 1.5 billion people around the globe who also live in hot, dry and isolated places, our innovative research partnership will pave the way for Australia’s next major export sector.” The Desert Knowledge CRC is supported by over $20m of Australian Federal funding as well as cash and in-kind commitments from its 28 partner organisations to create a research effort worth a total of $90m over the next seven years.