December 4th was the closing date for the 2nd round of funding in the Commonwealth Government’s Climate Ready R&D grants program and I’ve had my application accepted. AusIndustry administers the program but it’s a separate body, Innovation Australia, that makes the final decision on who gets the money and I won’t know if my application is successful for up to 3 months. If the feedback from AusIndustry is anything to go by my chances are slim.

The project for which I am asking for funding will use software to enable the use of a very low embodied energy building material (unprocessed rock rubble) instead of more energy intensive manufactured alternatives like brick and concrete blocks. The potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions looks good on paper and even though the Climate Ready customer information guide states that “the program’s intent is to assist the climate change effort as broadly and imaginatively as the applications to the program allow it to” it looks like the Old Industrial Era bias is creeping into the selection process.

During the last couple of centuries technical problems were solved by developing new machines but during this century ICT ,and biotech, will be up there with engineering as a significant player in the world of practical R&D. Unfortunately AusIndustry gives software projects an automatic low ranking unless they can be used to enable efficiencies in the renewable energy sector. Software used to increase efficiency, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions, in the construction sector is seen by AusIndustry as not being applicable to the climate change effort. Innovation Australia will probably spend more time and look more favourably on applications ranked highly by AusIndustry.

I shouldn’t be too harsh on AusIndustry though, or I’ll be embarrassed if I get the grant. I’ll write again in 3 months and let you know.