The Parks Forum Research Strategy promotes collaboration to undertake high quality research across environmental, social, cultural, economic and management areas. 

It is a strategic document written to encourage investigation into current and emerging issues that impact on the continuum of parks, from small urban parks to protected areas. Initially, Parks Forum will look to facilitate and support research undertaken by member agencies and where appropriate to manage research projects that collate existing data and information. Our international partnerships will be used to facilitate the extension of the scientific findings and applications to park management across the world. 

A Strategy has been developed for Parks Forum and our Membership. 

It outlines:

• The need for science in park management, including science based on experimentation (empirical research) and meta-analysis (review and analysis of published research)
• Parks Forum’s role in research
• Research principles
• Benefits of collaboration across the park industry and with research organisation
• Different models of working together with case studies as examples
  
• Focus areas of research across current and emerging issues
  

It is not intended to be prescriptive and does not outline specific projects. Feedback has been that these are best determined through the research partnerships to make sure that they meet the needs of participating agencies and align with the skills of the researchers.

The Knowledge and Research Standing Committee  has commenced work on the Agenda Research. This externally focused publication augments the Research Strategy and will provide an avenue for Parks Forum and its members to communicate research needs of the park industry over the next three to five years. It will promulgate the need for research partnerships between park agencies, research institutions and sectors associated with health and wellbeing to tackle important subjects such as the impact of climate change on recreation, fire in peri-urban areas and the economic value of park systems.