What makes catchment management groups "tick"?

The work of catchment management groups throughout Australia represents a s ignificant economic and social investment in natural resource management. I nstitutional structures and policies, the role of on-ground coordinators, f acilitation processes, citizen participation and social capital art critica l factors influencing the success of catchment management groups. From a pa rticipant-researcher viewpoint, this paper signposts research directions an d themes that are being pursued from the participant/coordinator, catchment group, and lead government/non-government agency perspective on the influe nce of these factors on the success of a catchment management group in the Pumicestone Region of Southeast Queensland, Australia. Research directions, themes and discussion/reflection points for practition ers include-the importance of understanding milieu; motivation; success; ha ving fun; "networking networks"; involvement of "non-traditional" stakehold ers; development of stakeholder/participant partnerships; learning from oth er practitioners; methods of stakeholder/participant representation; evalua tion; the need for guiding principles or philosophy; the equivalence of pla nning, implementation, evaluation, and resourcing; catchments as fundamenta l units of Nature; continuity of support for groups; recognising a new role for government; working with existing networks; and the need for an eclect ic approach to natural resource management.