Kirsten Maclean is Fenner School Honorary Senior Lecturer (her PhD was conferred at the ANU Fenner School in 2007) and a Principle Research Scientist (Human Geographer) at CSIRO (Brisbane).  She uses co-research practice and participatory methodologies to investigate the role of diverse people, their knowledge and values in relation to their natural and cultural resource management and planning interests and aspirations in regional and rural Australia.

Much of this work is developed in partnership with relevant government agencies, industry bodies and community and Indigenous organisations to ensure it responds to relevant national, state and place-based challenges. Importantly and as appropriate, research is often conducted with Indigenous co-research partners who actively care for their traditional country via diverse governance strategies. Such work also aims to address the challenges of, and harness future opportunities for Reconciliation, to support Indigenous leaders and their research and innovation agendas, and to ‘Close the Gap’.

Past research has developed processes and methods to integrate diverse knowledge, values and interests for improved planning and management in the domains of agriculture (in relation to: biosecurity; and the development of the Indigenous-led Bush Products sector, northern Australia), water, and biodiversity (including co-benefits of Indigenous cultural fire management). The outcomes of such research have been used by state and federal governments, peak industry organisations, non-government organisations and Indigenous and community organisations operating across these domains.