Dissemination of conference related content; Dissemination of information related to conference related visitors; Documentation of the initial project proposal, including the identification of key performance indicators; A formal recording of domestic and international conferences; A formal process for analysis of external L&D activities; and, Guidelines or a formal process for administering a survey within GA. However, it should be noted that some of these points are currently under review. Table 3.1: Key questions to be addressed in this chapter and the methods and activities undertaken to address the questions. Question Assessment Activities Details Does participation in the 34th IGC build GA’s capacity as the primary provider of technical geoscientific advice to the Australian Government? Individual employee’s uptake of knowledge Survey Questions Include questions on which activities at the 34th IGC participants were involved in (workshop, presentation, talks, etc.). Examination of Procedures Establish and evaluate what avenues exist within GA to disseminate information Evaluate the current practice and documentation within GA. Interviews with HR Establish how Resources (HR) assess the L&D value of conferences such as the 34th IGC. Retention of knowledge within GA Survey Questions Examine whether participation in the 34th IGC increased job satisfaction. Network/relationship building and maintenance Survey Questions Examine whether participants were involved in activities that built or maintained networks. Ask how stakeholders perceive the credibility of GA. Does GA involvement in the 34th IGC galvanise access and requests for precompetitive, products and legacy data? Case Study e.g. ASTER Geoscience Map of Australia release Survey Questions Ask GA delegates whether they were involved with a project delivered at the 34th IGC. Download Statistics Measure the activity on websites for the relevant dataset. Interviews Anecdotal evidence of positive outcomes from the previous IGC held in Australia (25th IGC, Sydney 1976) prompted the identification of individuals within the GA suitable for case study interviews. Interviews were targeted at current GA employees that were either within Bureau of Mineral Resources (BMR, a predecessor to GA) at the time of the 25th IGC, or had attended the 25th IGC post-
Dr Helje Parnaste (Tallinn University of Technology) Resources Group Group meetings 1 Professor Greg Retallack (University of Oregon) Basin Resources Group meetings 1 Professor Gary Greene (California State University) Coastal, Marine and Climate Change Group Group meetings with: Coastal, Marine and Climate Change Group; Basin Resources Group; Andrew Heap; Dr Clinton Foster (Chief Scientist) Habitat Mapping presentation and workshop open to: Coastal, Marine and Climate Change Observatories and Engineering Services Group; Basin Resources Group GA seminar 3 Terje Thorsnes (Norges Geologiske Undersekelse (NGU)) Coastal, Marine and Climate Change / Andrew Heap Group meetings with: Coastal, Marine and Climate Change Group; Stuart Minchin (Chief of Environmental Geoscience Division); Andrew Heap GA seminar 3 Ms Rafliana (Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)) International Group GA seminar 3 Evgenia Milshtein (A.P. Karpinsky Russian Geological Research Institute (VSGEI)) Energy Division GA seminar on: 3D multi-scale model of North, Central and East Asia 3 Sergey Shokalsky (A.P. Karpinsky Russian Geological Research Institute(VSGEI)) Energy Division GA seminar on: Atlas of Geological Maps of Central Asia and the Adjacent Territories at 1:2.5M 3 Dr Lee Allison (Arizona Geological Survey) GA seminar 3 Dr Eric Grunsky (Geological Survey of Canada) Geochronology Section / Regional Geology and Mineral Systems Group meetings GA seminar 3 Chinese Geological Survey Chris Pigram (Chief Executive Officer)/ Corporate 1 6th International SHRIMP Workshop group Geochronology Section / Regional Geology and Mineral Systems Group Visits to GA lab following workshop 2 Job Satisfaction A majority of respondents (69% with a confidence interval of ±8%) considered that their attendance at the 34th IGC had either a positive or strongly positive impact on their job satisfaction (Figure 3.8). There were many positive comments about how participation in the 34th IGC gave staff the
Appendix Three: Geoscience Australia’s involvement in the scientific program of the 34th IGC GA staff members coordinated themes, chaired sessions, or delivered keynote presentations for 19 out of 37 Symposia Themes at the 34th IGC (~50%) and the details are given below. Themes Sessions Role(s) Member(s) Theme 4: Environmental Geoscience 4.2 Global geochemical mapping: understanding chemical Earth (The 2nd Arthur Darnley Symposium) 4.3 Advances in the evaluation and interpretation of geochemical data at the continental scale Session Coordinator Patrice De Caritat Theme 5: Geoscience Information Theme Convenor Lesley Wyborn Theme 6: Energy in a Carbon Constrained World 6.2 Geothermal resources Session Coordinator Anthony Budd Theme 7: Mineral Resources and Mining 7.1 New age metals: the geology and genesis of ores required for a changing economy and a carbon constrained world [Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits (SGA)] Session Coordinator Huston 7.7 Qualitative and quantitative methods of assessing undiscovered mineral resources Session Coordinator Subhash Jaireth Theme 8: Mineral Exploration Geoscience 8.1 Footprints of mineralised systems: new concepts and data for exploration Session Coordinator Roger Skirrow 8.5 Exploration and discovery: diagnosis and prognosis are we in need of cure? [Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits (SGA)] Session Coordinator David Huston 8.3 Probing the from near-surface to the mantle - techniques, modelling software and case histories to aid mineral exploration Session Coordinator Richard Lane Session Coordinator Ned Stolz Theme 10: Coal - A Myriad of Resources 10.2 Coal - a record of change Session Coordinator Robert Langford Theme 11: Petroleum Systems and Exploration 11.1 Petroleum prospectivity of divergent and transform passive margin basins of North and South Atlantic, Arctic, India and Australasia Theme Convenor Marita Bradshaw 11.5 Petroleum exploration in frontier basins Session Coordinators Marita Bradshaw and Irina Borissova 11.6 Putting the geo into geophysics - adding clout through better datasets and joint interpretation Session Coordinator Ron Hackney
F.2: International GeoSurveys Forum – Applying geoscience to address the world’s major challenges Dr Pigram (CEO Geoscience Australia) F.3: Global Geoscience Initiative (GGI) – Developing a Geoscience Roadmap as part of the Belmont Forum Dr Chris Pigram (CEO Geoscience Australia)
Appendix Four: Breakdown of Recommendations from Chapter 3 Category Recommendation Questions / Comments Potential Cost Possible Timescale Further Investigation Examination of the new online L&D form How many GA employees completed the L&D form? Is additional information for analysis? Low Short Survey of non-34th IGC participants How many hours in preparation for GA’s 34th IGC activities? What exposure to 34th IGC related information dissemination? Low/Medium Short Survey of GA employees that attended workshops How did workshop attendance increase skill-set and capacity for BAU activities? Low Short Future survey using control group – examine a section with a strong 34th IGC focus How do 34th IGC participants compare with non-34th IGC participants in terms of capabilities for BAU activities? What are the long-term impacts on BAU capabilities and job satisfaction? Medium Mid Future Conferences Pre- and conference ‘mini’ sessions Dissemination of GA employee presentations to attendees within GA Low/Medium Ongoing External visitors to GA Formal processes for documentation and dissemination of information e.g. Intranet for visitors Low/Medium Ongoing Formal GA involvement Initial proposal / project document to have clear outlines of outcomes against which the activity can be judged Medium Long Organisational Processes Formal recording of information from Overseas Report – used in L&D assessment. International conferences are recorded via Overseas Report. This information should be collated and examined for assessment of L&D Low/Medium Medium/Long Some form of reporting for domestic conferences Currently no formal recording of attendance at domestic conference, aligned with Overseas Report. Medium Medium/Long
Possible use of the ‘purpose’ field in Travel Allowance Form for L&D Do GA employees complete L&D forms for all L&D activities? the ‘purpose’ field in the Travel Allowance form be used to capture information? Alternatively, could L&D form completion become a mandatory requirement prior to the authorisation of Travel Allowance? Low Similar process of value assessment of external L&D programs as used for internal Currently no processes for the evaluation of conference attendance. Could conferences be evaluated in terms of their L&D contribution? Medium/High Medium/Long Formal guidelines / SOP for administering a survey within GA Surveys are an important mechanism for testing the ‘pulse’ of the organisation. There are currently no guidelines or operating procedures for producing a survey within GA. This practice is not managed, is currently administered ad-hoc. Medium Medium