News & Updates

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One of the factors that has prompted us to launch our specialised rural survey service has been the survey workshops that I developed with Kerry Bell – a whiz with numbers and statistics!  Kerry and I had been co-running the University of Queensland’s ‘Evaluation of Projects and Programs’ Masters course for a number of years.

We had about 2 hours during the one week residential to devote to survey design and analysis and were always left frustrated at the end that we could not do it justice – and it was an area that students were very interested in. So we finally developed a course where we could devote 2 days rather than 2 hours to helping people understand the whole survey process!  And we’ve been pretty satisfied with the results and the feedback from participants.

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It’s not exactly ‘overseas’, but Tasmania is separated from mainland Australia by Bass Straight!  So maybe it ‘almost’ fits the travel theme of previous blogs.

It really is a beautify island sate – and I have been fortunate to have had some good project work in Tasmania over recent years.  For a number of years, I worked with my colleague Gordon Stone in evaluating the Stronger Learning Pathways project in the Cradle Coast (North West region). This project was attempting to address the low standing of continuing education in the region.  This gave us lots of reasons to travel to that part of the state – Burnie, Smithton, Wynyard and heaps of other coastal towns – to enjoy the tulips (yes there is a tulip farm just outside of Burnie!) – and look out for fairy penguins on the beach in the evenings.

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I seem to have started a theme about experiences in other countries – and as I am freshly back from a holiday in South America, I thought I would continue the theme.  Robyn and I teamed up with a group of mainly Toowoomba-ites, and marshalled by our common travel agent (Wendy), headed off to South America just after Easter.  We had not been there before and it was all a bit of a mystery to me.

We started in Argentina – Buenos Aeries.  I found a country that seemed very much like a version of Australia – just with the Spanish background rather than the British influence in Australia.  In both countries the original inhabitants were forced out to the more inhospitable areas – and you are left with quite a transplanted culture in the cities and agricultural parts.   Flying over the agricultural land was just like flying over NSW and SW Queensland.  Even our visit to a local tourist ranch reminded me of the early Australian era as well (well, except for the more colourful clothes and dances!).  A highlight was the large cemetery where Eva Peron was buried!  More like a city than our traditional Oz plots.

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One place that I have enjoyed going to over the years is Papua New Guinea.  My first experience there was as a very young Australian Volunteer when my wife Robyn and I went to Hagita High School and Plantation in 1976 near Alatou in Milne Bay Province.  I managed a copra and cattle plantation and Robyn taught at the Catholic High School.  This was just after independence and it was great to experience the hope and confidence of this new nation.  One claim to fame – at least for Robyn – was making the outfits for the school brass band to welcome the Queen on a visit to Alotau.

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In this new website, I was keen to have a place where I could provide an update on my latest experiences and thinking when it came to evaluation, extension or development issues – an opportunity for a bit of free thought.  Although the blog doesn’t allow direct comment as such, feel free to use the contact page to email me any feeedback or thoughts that have been triggered by my entries.

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