52. Thanks, Melbourne!

It's been a fantastic year in Melbourne with so many opportunities to meet people, attend events, engage in projects and write papers! Along the way I have had the chance to meet with many researchers working at universities and practitioners from municipalities in Melbourne. Based on all these conversations, I have put together a paper (with a colleague) with the title: "The Rise of the UniverCity? Cross-sector Partnerships for Urban Sustainability". The abstract reads: "There is increased interest in the role of universities and municipalities in cross-sector partnerships on sustainable development and climate change. This paper investigates recent experiences with collaboration between municipalities and universities on urban sustainability in Melbourne, Australia where the City of Melbourne has defined an Eco-City vision. Collaboration is described and analysed in Melbourne from two viewpoints. First, looking at innovative actors and networks that act as bridging organisations between municipalities and universities. Second, looking at projects and activities in terms of five channels for action on urban sustainability. In essence, this paper reveals a web of actors and networks as well as activities and projects in Melbourne that could be the foundations for an emerging “UniverCity for Sustainability” where researchers and practitioners work extensively and strategically together on urban sustainability. However, tapping into the full potential of research-practice collaboration on urban sustainability in Melbourne demands intensified efforts on practical and strategic challenges. Key conclusions of this paper for Melbourne are that universities and municipalities need to establish persuasive incentives for collaborative efforts that are connected to work activities for practitioners and researchers, link activities and projects under a deliberate framework, facilitate placements of researchers (and students) at municipalities, promote regular physical and virtual interactions, and engage in urban sustainability experiments through living labs that involve physical changes in buildings, infrastructure and precincts."