Fiona McKenzie

PhD Candidate

Madsen Building (F09), Room 416
Phone: +61 2 9351 7179
Fax: +61 2 9351 3644
Email:

Supervisor
Dr Phil McManus

Research

Fostering decision and innovation: towards agriculture that maintains or improves the natural resource base

Fiona holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and a Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University. Having grown up on a farm in north western New South Wales, she seeks to discover new approaches to agriculture and natural resources management where both can prosper. For the past three years, Fiona has worked as a Policy Analyst with the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, where she has been responsible for turning ideas and scientific knowledge into concrete policy solutions. She also previously worked for the New South Wales Government, in the former Healthy Rivers Commission, the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources and the Ministry for Science and Medical Research. In conjunction with her studies, Fiona is a consultant to the Terrestrial Carbon Group, an international group of eminent scientists and economists, where she advises on strategic direction, public profile and emerging policy and scientific issues.

The focus of Fiona’s PhD is to explore ways to foster innovation in agriculture that improves the natural resource base on which farming depends. It is based on the premise that, globally, agriculture is at a turning point, faced with what may be its biggest challenge yet - finding ways to substantially increase production at the same time as protecting the environment. Our present trajectory will not lead us there.

Using decision theory and concepts of innovation as a theoretical framework, Fiona’s research is investigating change at the whole-of-farm scale, and how public policy could be better conceptualized and implemented in order to foster agricultural systems that places us on a new trajectory, where maintaining the underlying natural resource base into the future becomes a feasible option for farmers today.

Selected Publications / Conferences

• Williams, J. and McKenzie, F., 2008. ‘Agriculture’ in 10 Commitments: Reshaping the Lucky Country's Environment. Lindenmayer, D.B., Dovers, S., Hariss Olsen and Morton, S.(Eds).CSIRO Publishing, Canberra.
• Williams, J. and McKenzie, F., 2008. ‘Farming without harming’ in Australasian Science, Vol 29, No. 7, August 2008, p.31-34
• Young, M. and McKenzie, F., 2008. ‘It’s the water stupid!’ in Australian R&D Review, July 2008.
• McKenzie, F., 2007. ‘The Water Revolution’ in Issues, Volume 79, June 2007, p.20-22.