SGS Economics and Planning (2025). National Indigenous Environment Research Network (NIERN): Business Case Report. Report to the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Resilient Landscapes Hub, Western Australia.
Overview
The National Indigenous Environment Research Network (NIERN) is proposed as an Indigenous-led organisation that bridges the gap between Western and Indigenous approaches to environmental research. It aims to strengthen Indigenous voices in setting research priorities, ensure cultural safety, and build capacity for Indigenous-led and co-designed science across Australia. NIERN will act as a peak body, engaging Indigenous communities while also partnering with governments, research institutions, and industry to influence the national environmental research agenda.
The business case outlines NIERN’s objectives of establishing best practice principles, ensuring research is relevant and measurable, and delivering outcomes with enduring social, cultural, environmental, and economic benefits. Forecast costs are approximately $24 million over its first five years, requiring a mix of government grants, philanthropic contributions, and own-source revenue such as membership fees. Different funding scenarios suggest that financial sustainability depends on attracting significant external support alongside contributions from member organisations.
The expected benefits are wide-ranging. NIERN will protect and strengthen Indigenous Knowledge, improve health and wellbeing, enhance self-determination, and reduce cultural load by ensuring culturally safe research environments. It will also improve research quality, support data sovereignty, upskill Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants, and stimulate innovation through two-way learning. These outcomes are aligned with national policy frameworks including the National Environmental Science Program, Indigenous Partnerships Principles, Closing the Gap, and the Indigenous Procurement Policy.
The report concludes that NIERN would deliver substantial long-term benefits by embedding Indigenous priorities and knowledge systems in Australia’s environmental science, but its success depends on stable funding and effective governance in its formative years.
National Indigenous Environment Research Network (NIERN): Business Case Report
