Labor Pledges $36 Million Investment in NFP Knowledge Base

Labor Senator Ursula Stephens has announced on the ALP blog that a re-elected Labor Government would invest $36 million in a knowledge base for the Not for Profit Sector.

Senator Stephens says Labor will act on the Productivity Commission’s recommendation of investing in knowledge systems in the sector, through an investment of $36 million in the Social Innovation Cooperative Research Centre projects to target research on major social challenges.

Pro Bono Australia and the Centre for Social Impact are part of the consortium backing the Knowledge 4 Social Impact CRC bid.

According to the Centre for Social Impact, Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) are consortia built on collaboration between industry stakeholders and leading researchers and universities, supported through the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research’s CRC program and other government grants, with the aim of addressing long-term end-user defined research projects to address major challenges faced by the industry.

During the election campaign, the Labor Government announced it would drive a major reform agenda for Australia’s Not for Profit sector by delivering smarter regulation, reducing red tape and improving transparency and accountability of the sector.

The election reform plan includes a new Office for the Not for Profit Sector within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, a scoping study to determine the role and design options for a national ‘one-stop-shop’ regulator for the Not for Profit sector, reducing red-tape for government-funded NFP organisations by developing a common form contract or ‘master agreement’ and reviewing tendering, contracting and acquittal arrangements.