Two weeks ago, I popped by the ABC Southbank studio for a national radio interview with Phil Clark for ABC Nightlife.
Phil interviewed me from Sydney, I wanted to do it in the studio for better audio quality. This one is a long-form conversation, so great to be able to unpack further on the impact of food waste in Australia. The segment aired nationally at night, as part of the continued media cycle around our End Food Waste Australia CRC Quick Service Restaurant Sector Action Plan project on food waste in the quick service restaurant sector, work completed by our RMIT University research team at School of Design – Caroline Francis, Ph.D, Karli Verghese, Ruby Chan PhD, Sam Quirk, and myself.
Research translation absolutely matters here, it’s not something we do once the project is concluded, it’s the key piece in making sure all that research work done in the past 2 years is seen, legible and actionable beyond the project team.
A well-researched report that is important, rigorous and carefully produced should be more than a PDF link – if no one sees it, reads it, discusses it or acts on it, its public value is limited. The continued media interest around this project helped take the work into broader public conversation.
Food waste is a systems issue, a design issue, a training issue, an infrastructure issue and a communication issue. It needs to be understood beyond specialist circles and sector. Here’s where design research could contribute meaningfully – making complex problems visible and legible to public – beyond the walls of academia – without diluting or flattening complexity.
