Building a future that grows energy, community
Human history is built on building things, and new CQUniversity research is focused on building things better.
Dr Roksana Tumpa is a Lecturer in Project Management at CQU Sydney and specialises in working with developers to ensure managers embed 'social value' in their infrastructure projects.
She says the innovative approach can achieve ongoing community and environmental benefits, as global infrastructure investment is projected to reach around $US68.5 trillion globally over the next 20 years, estimated the University of Oxford and United Nations Office for Project Services.
And in Australia, she says the growing emphasis on social issues in infrastructure planning, highlighted by the Federal Government new ‘wellbeing’ budget and the National Wellbeing Framework, should be driving developments that support healthier humans, and environment.
The passionate academic has just visited Singapore, and her research trip included three award-winning infrastructure initiatives that embedded environmental value: Garden by the Bay, Jewels at Changi Airport and the net-zero energy building School of Design and Environment at the National University of Singapore.
“Australian infrastructure can learn valuable lessons from the National University of Singapore’s net-zero energy building to advance its own net-zero goals,” Dr Tumpa said.
“To see a building that’s achieved an impressive 30 per cent energy surplus, it really serves as a prototype – and a challenge! - for integrating traditional tropical design with modern sustainable technologies.”
Dr Tumpa is also contributing to a new Australian project that has earned research funding to focus on improving stakeholder engagement processes, while delivering social value in infrastructure project.
The $10,000 grant was awarded by the Project Governance and Controls Symposium (PGCS), a not-for-profit organisation that expands knowledge of project management and rewards excellence in research.
Dr Tumpa is leading the project, with Dr Marzena Baker (ACU), Dr Amir Ghanbaripour (Bond University) and Dr Riza Yosia Sunindijo (UNSW).
Dr Tumpa said the project will measure how effectively existing social value strategies are driving benefit to organisations like social enterprises, which operate to achieve positive social outcomes, and to the community more widely.
“Effective stakeholder engagement will lead to stronger, more positive relationships with local communities… and reduced conflicts, smoother project implementation and ultimately enhanced social value,” she explained.
“The research will also give projects a structure for aligning their work and social value investment directly with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.”
CQUniversity is proud to be Australia’s only social enterprise university, certified by Social Traders Australia.
The accreditation highlights CQUniversity’s determination to put people and planet first, and its commitment to empower every student to create social impact in their careers and lives.
According to Social Enterprise Australia, there are 12,000 social enterprises contributing $21 billion to the economy, employing over 200,000 people nationwide.
In 2023, business and government spent $171 million with certified social enterprises, and two-thirds of businesses increased or maintained their level of social procurement. The number of certified social enterprises is growing by an average of 29 per cent each year.
