A new two-year study led by a Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher will aim to change the way the Australian wine industry puts research into practice.

The Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project was announced on Tuesday 6 July by the Minister for Education and Training, the Hon. Christopher Pyne MP. It will receive ARC funding of $191 394.

The study, Information Seeking and Research Adoption: Assessing Communication Strategies will be led by CSU Professor of Information Studies Lisa Given. It is designed to determine the best ways to communicate wine research and to design tools to support the industry in its adoption of research.

Professor Given said, "Research into employees' information practices in the workplace has been conducted in other areas such as health care and education but the wine industry's use of information and technology for adoption is unexplored.

"We plan to assess the strategies used to share research with winemakers and grape growers, such as seminars, websites and social media, from information behaviour or web useability perspectives, to ensure industry needs are being appropriately met.

"This project aims to have a direct and immediate impact on the wine industry. In addition to the immediate impact of new research innovations that will be implemented by our partner wine companies, the project will also change industry-wide approaches to extension."

Partners in the CSU-led project include: the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning; Australian Wine Research Institute; Wine Grape Marketing Board; Australian Grape and Wine Authority; Cumulus Estate Wines; Philip Shaw Wines; McWilliam's Wines; Lalleman Australia; Treasury Wine Estates Vintners Ltd; De Bortoli Wines; and Jarrett Agricultural Trust.

Professor Given is based in the University's School of Information Studies at Wagga Wagga. She is a member of CSU's Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE). The project's co-investigator is Professor Alain Deloire, Director of the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre an alliance between CSU, NSW Department of Primary Industries and the NSW Wine Industry Association.

Acting CSU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research, Development and Industry) Dr Mary T Kelly congratulated Professor Given on securing the ARC funding.

"The opportunities provided through this project are at their core based on the sharing of expertise across disciplines and an exemplar of how Charles Sturt University is strongly positioned to engage in research vital to our region and to Australian industry more broadly," she said.

Other ARC 2015 Linkage Projects involving CSU include:

- Building research culture in Australia's library and information profession is a $219 959 grant led by Professor Helen Partridge at the University of Southern Queensland involving Professor Lisa Given from the School of Information Studies at CSU in Wagga Wagga. Australian libraries are being called upon to do more with less in an increasingly competitive information environment. The project will help libraries contribute in a more powerful way to national productivity by developing a national database of research evidence and creating a framework to help professionals to make tough decisions. 

- Optimised field delineation of contaminated soils is a $226 094 grant led by the Professor Alexander McBratney at University  of Sydney and involves Dr Ana Horta from the School of Environmental Sciences at CSU in Albury-Wodonga. The project seeks to cost-efficiently identify the contaminated areas of a soil site which will require remediation.