Icon in Crisis: The Reinvention of CSIRO

An insider’s account of the transformation—and recovery from\npotential ruin—of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and\nIndustrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), this book details how the\niconic research agency reinvented itself through its National\nFlagship Initiative. In 2001, facing the threat of funding cuts and\npotential loss of reputation, the CSIRO set out to achieve the\nchanges necessary for its survival, wrestling with nearly every\naspect of its identity and culture, and this record tells the story\nof the dramatic, successful program that brought together the\nnation’s greatest minds to tackle some of its biggest challenges,\nincluding water, energy, and the future of food. The frank and\nunflinching account documents the result of the biggest shake-up in\nthe organization’s history: extra funding and the highest accolades\nat the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Sector\nManagement. The true story of a national agency’s struggle to find\nits way in a changing political and financial environment proves to\nbe a fascinating read and is sure to appeal to managers, strategic\nplanners, and academics.

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