As for VIMS itself, the consortium approach has clear implications. Figure 1 showed a plateau in the growth of VIMS programs in the last two years. While the effects of the recession on VIMS' activity can be clearly seen, there is another, more important signal—that some of the activity that VIMS is able to generate will lead to growth in partner organizations, rather than in VIMS itself. The implications of this are being explored in formulating VIMS' corporate strategy to cover the period to 1996. In it, we recognize there will be constraints on growth of VIMS' programs, for the best of reasons—that VIMS will be striving to ensure growth occurs in areas in which it does not have the special capability, because it resides in one of our partner organizations.

VIMS will continue to grow, but slowly. The exception will be if it acquires responsibilities and activities outside its present ones. For example, VIMS and the Port of Melbourne Authority are presently evaluating whether a coastal engineering research and technical group, presently residing in the PMA, should join VIMS. This type of rationalization, should it occur, will preserve an important capability and add to the collective strength in Victoria.

Royal Society of Victoria