Abstract: Desert Australia may be dry but, per head of population, it is the nation’s richest region. Desert people generate billions of dollars of export income and run 39,000 small businesses. They cradle the world’s oldest living human culture and generate a creative explosion in art, music, desert culture, food and design. The DKCRC has succeeded in realising some of this potential and a consortium of partners want to improve on those successes. The principles of how research is conducted are as important as what is done. Examples of success and indications to future research topics will be given.