The old APSRU III agreement was a mix of APSRU and APSIM activities (i.e. coordination and collaborative research vs. tool and software development). It was identified that some partners did not want to be involved in both APSRU and APSIM activities, while other potential new partners may have wanted to invest in one or another of these activities.
As a result, a new, refocused, simpler model for collaboration has been established in the field of farming systems and crop adaptation and improvement R&D. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is to be developed to continue collaboration in this field. As a result, the existing Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit (APSRU) Phase III Unincorporated Joint Venture, has been redesigned to separate collaborative R&D activities (through a MOU) from development and management of the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM). Without having to deal with APSIM development and management, APSRU Phase IV collaboration can concentrate on the field of farming systems and crop adaptation and improvement R&D, with national and international relevance and linkages.
The APSRU Phase IV MOU will support the research efforts of the participating organisations through the facilitation of collaboration in the field of farming systems and crop adaptation and improvement R&D. By bringing together research bodies in this field, the aim is to develop synergies and maximise the opportunity for each member to contribute to coordination and collaboration.
In short, APSRU will serve as a meeting point to discuss science opportunities, share knowledge, ideas and learning’s, negotiate collaborative projects, discuss new initiatives and positions as well as any changes to organisations priorities.
Specifically, the parties wish to deploy research capacity to address priority issues in the following Focus Areas (Schedule 1):
For APSIM development information goto: http://www.apsim.info
For MJO information goto: http://www.bom.gov.au/bmrc/clfor/cfstaff/matw/maproom/RMM/index.htm