Who we are

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 relat­ing to desert and arid lands.” 

With this nation­al man­date, DKA works for a stronger region­al and remote Aus­tralia by nur­tur­ing rela­tion­ships and con­nect­ing peo­ple and knowl­edge. We work across state and ter­ri­to­ry bor­ders with the peo­ple, places and knowl­edges of the desert to put knowl­edge into action.

DKA man­ages the Desert Knowl­edge Precinct in Alice Springs. The Precinct is a wel­com­ing envi­ron­ment that encour­ages learn­ing, knowl­edge shar­ing and col­lab­o­ra­tion, reflect­ing and respect­ing its dis­tinc­tive sur­round­ings. The research, edu­ca­tion, enter­pris­es and cul­tur­al activ­i­ties housed on-site cre­ate an enrich­ing, invig­o­rat­ing place to make con­nec­tions. 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