The town of Lake Boga in northern Victoria experienced the loss of its lake in early 2008 due to ongoing drought conditions. This lake was central to the town's recreation and tourism industry and formed a defining point of identity for residents and visitors. The town was chosen as a research case study by the...

Rural communities in developed countries such as Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland have experienced profound challenges over the past three decades. The social fabric of rural communities in these countries has been and will continue to be affected by global and local processes that compound poverty and exclusion. The paper then...

This Policy Brief discusses how innovation and other growth factors are linked to geography, explaining why some regions grow while others do not. It also suggests that comparative advantages and complementarities across regions will help ensure that growth in one place produces benefits elsewhere.

Governing regional development policy is a complex task. The environment is characterised by vertical inter-dependencies between levels of government, horizontal relationships among stakeholders in multiple sectors, and a need for partnership between public and private actors. In this context, effective governance requires a flexible mechanism for meeting information needs and promoting performance. Indicator systems hold...

There are numerous mines that are either planned or are under construction throughout Australia in what have, until now, been regions dominated by broadacre agriculture. While these mining ventures bring new jobs, infrastructure, people and opportunities to their host community, it is usually the case that the management of the social dimension of economic change...