Desert Knowl­edge Aus­tralia (DKA) is a statu­to­ry author­i­ty of the North­ern Ter­ri­to­ry estab­lished in 2003 to encour­age and facil­i­tate learn­ing, research and sus­tain­able eco­nom­ic and social devel­op­ment in the desert. DKA believes there is great poten­tial in the peo­ple, places and knowl­edge of the desert which is why strength­en­ing remote Aus­tralia is at the heart of every­thing we do. DKA is a nation­al not-for-prof­it organ­i­sa­tion whose projects focus on renew­able ener­gy, desert lead­er­ship, dig­i­tal inno­va­tion and desert research. 

DKA is the land­lord of the Desert Knowl­edge Precinct, 73 hectares of Arrernte land in Alice Springs where a group of like-mind­ed organ­i­sa­tions are striv­ing to make the desert a bet­ter place to work, learn and live. The Precinct is home to the inter­na­tion­al­ly renowned DKA Solar Cen­tre, the largest mul­ti-tech­nol­o­gy solar demon­stra­tion facil­i­ty in the South­ern Hemisphere. 

DKA proud­ly acknowl­edges the Arrernte peo­ple as the cus­to­di­ans and the first knowl­edge hold­ers of this land, and our man­age­ment of the Precinct is under­pinned by an Indige­nous Land Use Agree­ment. 

In 2019 – 2021, DKA’s strate­gic plan is focused on: 

• The con­tin­ued devel­op­ment of the Desert Knowl­edge Precinct and the DKA Solar Centre
• Grow­ing the role of the Intyal­heme Cen­tre for Future Ener­gy as a self-sus­tain­ing enti­ty that forges part­ner­ships, builds on exist­ing knowl­edge and gen­er­ates new knowl­edge about renew­able energy
• Fos­ter­ing desert lead­er­ship by con­nect­ing peo­ple, knowl­edge and oppor­tu­ni­ties, sup­port­ing Abo­rig­i­nal enter­pris­es and employ­ment, incu­bat­ing inno­va­tion and devel­op­ing pro­grams such as Codes 4 Life that cre­ate pos­i­tive social change; and sup­port­ing strong gov­er­nance and organ­i­sa­tion­al practices
• Estab­lish­ing a Dig­i­tal Inno­va­tion Cen­tre with state-of-the-art resources, and work­ing to devel­op strong desert data gov­er­nance sys­tems, prac­tices and knowledge
• Acti­vat­ing the Desert Knowl­edge Research Insti­tute to con­duct com­mu­ni­ty-dri­ven, tar­get­ed research pro­grams in the areas of peo­ple, place and knowledge

Annu­al Reports

2017 — 2018

DKA’s achieve­ments in 2017 – 2018 are a cred­it to its ded­i­cat­ed board and its employ­ees. Over the past year, DKA has devel­oped strong pro­grams and sig­nif­i­cant part­ner­ships that con­tribute to the socioe­co­nom­ic devel­op­ment of the desert. 

We have

• launched the Intyal­heme Cen­tre for Future Ener­gy which facil­i­tates impor­tant research and part­ner­ships in renew­able energy;
• grown and strength­ened our desert lead­er­ship pro­gram Codes 4 Life, work­ing with Abo­rig­i­nal men of Cen­tral Australia;
• con­tin­ued the Desert Knowl­edge Precinct, iden­ti­fy­ing new oppor­tu­ni­ties for this vibrant hub of research, edu­ca­tion and engineering;
• cre­at­ed a new edu­tourism pro­gram, com­bin­ing cul­ture and STEAM, to pro­vide valu­able learn­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties to school students
• forged sig­nif­i­cant part­ner­ships with organ­i­sa­tions such as Lendlease and Indige­nous Busi­ness Australia
• artic­u­lat­ed our vision and val­ues to guide the ways we work, and reju­ve­nat­ed the brand of DKA;
• con­sult­ed with a diverse range of stake­hold­ers to set DKA’s strate­gic focus areas for 2018 — 2021. 

Read the 2017 – 2018 Annu­al Report.

Pre­vi­ous Years

2016 — 2017 Annu­al Report

2015 — 2016 Annu­al Report

2014 — 2015 Annu­al Report

2013 — 2014 Annu­al Report

To request an annu­al report from anoth­er year, please email info@​dka.​com.​au 

Sus­tain­able Development

DKA endors­es the Unit­ed Nations Sus­tain­able Devel­op­ment Goals and recog­nis­es them as a blue­print to achieve a bet­ter and more sus­tain­able future for all.