Preliminary applications for the MLA/GRDC Partnership PDS program are required to address one of the priorities outlined below for the mixed farming systems of Australia across Qld, NSW, ACT, VIC, SA, TAS and southern WA (see maps of regions):

1. Human and animal wellbeing that supports communities and social license and ensures diversity of access to markets for Australian producers.
2. Optimise pasture and grain crop productivity through best management of plant nutrition and soils and enhanced biosecurity, weed, pest and disease control to improve profitability.
3. Sustainable, responsible production systems adapted to climate variability through business planning, enterprise mix, and risk management strategies. Demonstrating employment of commercial technologies, such as remote monitoring, virtual fencing, and drones, to increase efficiency and address labour shortfalls.
4. Demonstration of value-add opportunities in mixed farming systems to increase margins and/or lower post-farm gate costs.

Producer groups wishing to engage in an MLA/GRDC Partnership PDS projects will be able to access up to $100,000 per year, for up to 40 months to a maximum value of $360,000.

For details on what the funding can be used for, refer to the “what is funded” section of the Terms of Reference.

All MLA/GRDC Partnership PDS projects require cash investment in the project, which is matched by the MLA Donor Company (MDC). For more information on the funding, the split, and cash contribution, refer to the “what is funded” section of the Terms of Reference.

All producer groups will need to engage a facilitator who is experienced in group coordination and extension, monitoring and evaluation of on-farm practice change and communication and reporting.

Funding is available for groups of mixed farming producers to validate and demonstrate the business value of integrating new commercially available technologies and on-farm management practices into local production systems.

All contracts will be required to be with a company or other legal entity, excluding individuals/sole traders. For unincorporated producer groups, arrangements should be made for contracting through an affiliated company.

Where the intended contracted party is a Trustee (on behalf of a trust), MLA will require copies of ID for all Trustees and a copy of the Trust Deed.

The Tenderer must provide details of its current insurance policies, and each proposed subcontractor and supplier as outlined in the preliminary and full applications.

Selection of preliminary applications and full applications will be based on the following criteria:

1. Alignment with priorities outlined in the terms of reference
2. Number and enthusiasm of producers in the core group and opportunity for broader scale engagement across the observer group/district
3. Potential impact on producer business profit drivers & industry profitability
4. Project team's capability to undertake the requirements of a PDS
5. A very clear and measurable objective(s)
6. Methodology to demonstrate the business value of the technology/practice/innovation(s) and achieve practice change.
7. Extension and communications plan and activities within the PDS group (core) and more broadly (observer group and nationally)
8. Proposed monitoring, evaluation, and reporting (MER) activities and data management plan
9. Value for money.

Terms of Reference

• MLA/GRDC Partnership PDS Terms of Reference

Preliminary

• MLA/GRDC Partnership PDS Preliminary PDS Application Form
• MLA/GRDC Preliminary Application Guidelines

Full application

• MLA/GRDC Partnership PDS Full PDS Application Form
• MLA/GRDC Partnership Full Application Guidelines

General

• MLA PDS MER Guidelines
• MLA Tender Declaration
• MDC Source of Funds Declaration
• PDS MDC Cash-Flow Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Applications and supporting documents are to be emailed to pds@mla.com.au on or before the due dates as outlined below:

• Preliminary Applications must be submitted on or before 25 September 2024.
• All preliminary applicants will be notified of acceptance or otherwise by 23 October 2024.
• Successful preliminary applicants will be invited to submit a Full Application by 20 November 2024.
• All successful full applicants will be notified by 19 December 2024.
• Projects will be contracted and ready to commence by early 2025.

Important information regarding the tender process:

• Tenders must comply with all requirements specified in the request for tender/terms of reference.
• The requirements specified in this request for tender apply to both the preliminary and full applications.
• Applications are to be submitted an electronic/soft copy.
• All sections within the preliminary application form must be completed in full. Preliminary applications are not to exceed 4 pages; the privacy collection notice can be pushed over to the 5^th page only.
• Where invited to submit a full application, the current version of the Full Application Form must be completed in its entirety.
• Annexure 1 of the Terms of Reference contains a tender declaration to be completed by the Tenderer and submitted with the preliminary application.
• Annexure 2 of the Terms of Reference contains an MDC Source of funds declaration to be completed by the Tenderer and submitted with the preliminary application.
• MLA has been appointed as the managing agent for MLA and GRDC.
• The Terms of Agreement MLA wishes to enter with the successful Tenderer may be requested by emailing pds@mla.com.au. MLA is non-negotiable on the terms of the agreement.
• Where the successful Tenderer has a negotiated standard agreement with MLA, the terms of that agreement will apply. Where no previously negotiated agreement is in place unless clearly stated to the contrary in the tender, all terms of our MLA Umbrella Research Agreement will apply.
• Tenderers of successful full applications will be provided with a link to complete a questionnaire regarding modern slavery due diligence. Completion of the questionnaire is required before progressing with contracting.

Q1. Is the access fee also 8% if the cash contribution is from a producer group?

Yes, the access fee is 8% of the contribution value for where the source of funds originates from levy paying producers and producer groups.

Q2.  Can you please clarify that the access fees are paid to MLA, and does not contribute to the project?

This MDC program is self-funded and is not supported by industry levy funds. The program can only be offered if sufficient funding is raised within program to support the management, administration

and delivery of MDC activities. Therefore, a project access fee is applied to all MDC supported initiatives, collected by MLA and used internally to support the program.

The access fee is on top of the project budget and is not disbursed to delivery partners as a part of Milestone payments.

Q3. Is the cash contribution a part of the total funding, is there a clear example of how this calculated, including the access fee calculation?

The cash contribution is part of the total funding. The Australian Government matches voluntary partner contributions (up to 40%) through the MDC.

The breakdown of the budget is as follows:

50% GRDC contribution

30% Cash contribution (participant and/or third party)

20% MDC/MLA contribution

Example project budget scenarios:

Example 1: ABC Producer Group submits a PDS application to establish 5 demonstration sites, with monitoring for three years and is requesting funding of the maximum project value of $360 000.00 over 40 months.

Based on the project value of $360,000, a partner cash contribution of $108,000 is required, and in this scenario will be provided by participating producers and the producer group which incurs an 8% access fee. 8% of the $108,000 contribution is an access fee value of $8,640.

The funding splits for the project budget and access fees payable are as follows:

Example 2: XYZ Producer Group submits a PDS application to establish 3 demonstration sites, with monitoring for two years and is requesting funding of the maximum project value of $240 000.00 over 28 months.

Based on the project value of $240,000, a partner cash contribution of $72,000 is required, and in this scenario will be provided by participating producers and the producer group which will incur an 8% access fee. 8% of the $72,000 contribution is an access fee $5,760.

Further examples are available in the MLA GRDC Partnership PDS preliminary application guidelines based on alternate funding sources (e.g. Third party contributor or combination of producer and third party). 

Q4. Can you please clarify if the cash contribution can be spent on capital items, purchase of animals, fencing infrastructure, etc?

As per the terms of reference, and preliminary and full application guidelines, funding from the MLA/GRDC Partnership PDS program, including the cash contribution, cannot be used for the purchase of capital items, purchase of animals, fencing infrastructure, etc.

Successful preliminary applicants will be required to provide a breakdown of the project expenditure within the full application.

Q5.  What is an eligible contribution source?

MLA/MDC is not able to match funds sourced from other Australian Federal Government programs and may only be able to match funds from Australian State Governments under limited circumstances.

A statutory declaration must be provided clarifying the source of funds (Source of funds declaration in the terms of reference).

Funding sources may include the following:

• Australian or International partners (funding directly provided by partner) – including participating producers, producer groups and or other commercial enterprises.
• Levy funds collected by other Research and Development Corporations (e.g. AMPC)
• Commonwealth (funding provided by the Commonwealth can be used in the project though not matched).
• State (funding provided by State governments which may be able to be matched under some conditions).

Q6. Is the access fee calculated on the net project value or contribution value?

The access fee is payable on the portion of funds being matched by MDC and is therefore calculated on the contribution value.

E.G.

A project valued at $200,000 of which $60,000 is a partner cash contribution to be matched by MDC. The access fee payable by the partner will be calculated as a percentage of the $60,000. The percentage the access fee is charged at will be determined by the source of funds (8% or 12%).

Q7. Could you please clarify who is able to apply? Are these projects open only to producer groups? Should the producer group or producer be submitting the tender? Can research or other groups, in coordination with producers, apply for the tender?

The project should be producer-led/engage a group of producers from the outset. However, the application does not have to be submitted by a producer group/producer.

Applications can be submitted by either producer groups, a producer on behalf of a group, a consultant or service provider, a researcher or another group in coordination with producers.

Q8. Can you advise if a project concept would be considered for funding?  

The short answer is No.

While we can provide responses (published here) to direct questions related to the project call, terms of reference, project structure, funding, etc, as a part of this open call, we are unable to provide guidance on project concepts and their likelihood of success.

We suggest submitting an application, and through the review process, feedback will be provided.

Q9. Can you research site/station being submit a PDS application and be host site?

Research Sites/Stations have participated in PDS projects in the past; however, it is important to remember a few things when preparing an application if you intend to have a research site/station as a part of the project or as the applicant for a PDS projects. These include that PDS projects:

1. Require a core group of commercial producers to be involved and drive the project, from multiple businesses/properties.
2. Must demonstrate the intended practices on more than one property, multiple demonstration site host will be needed, and therefore some of the commercial producers within the core group will also need to be willing to host sites. We suggest no more than one site is hosted by a research organisation.
3. Need to engage a broader network of observer producers in communication and extension activities.
4. Must focus on the implementation and demonstration of best practice, known research outcomes and or commercially available technology. It cannot be research.

Q10. Does the applicant or core group have to be a part of an established producer, farming system or grower group?

In short, no. While a group of producers is required to participate in a PDS, they do not need to be from an existing established producer, farming systems or grower group.

The producer group can be simply a collective of like-minded producers wishing to come together, with a skilled facilitator for the purpose of the project.

Q11. Can a PDS project be focused on demonstrating the use of a commercial tool or technology?

Demonstrating commercial tools/technology can be a core component of a PDS concept; however, as the MLA GRD Partnership PDS is designed to support producers in building skills, knowledge and confidence to achieve practice change, it is important to think beyond the demonstration and adoption of the tool/technology itself.

Consider how the tool/technology or the data it generates could inform on-farm decision-making or practice change to improve the livestock enterprise’s productivity, profitability or sustainability.

Q12. Can you please advise on the details required regarding Data Management? Is it necessary to complete the data management template at this preliminary stage or is it adequate to commit to compliance if the project proceeds and complete the template down the track?

It is not necessary to complete the data management template at the preliminary application stage. It is recommended that you make a high-level reference to your intended compliance within the MER section of the preliminary application.

Successful applications that proceed to contract following the full application process will be required to submit the completed Data Management Plan template as a part of the first milestone for the project.

Q13. The MLA/GRDC Partnerships PDS site projects info states that ‘All producer groups will need to engage a facilitator’. Can you confirm that this is compulsory?

All PDS projects must engage a suitably skilled facilitator. This could be a staff member of the contracted party, a staff member of the producer/farming systems/grower group, a government department staff member and or a subcontracted third-party consultant/service provider. It is crucial that all projects have a facilitator engaged to manage the project, facilitate the engagement with the producers, ensure implementation of the MER and communication plans and complete the reporting requirements.