Strategic R&D Management and Funding Framework and Review of Adoption of Pasture Utilisation and NRM Innovations

Summary

This paper is the final report in a series of reports prepared by Australian Venture Consultants (the ‘Consultants’) for Meat and Livestock Australia Livestock Production Innovation (MLA) over the past 18 months. The purpose of this paper is to provide guidelines for managing specific MLA and MLA funded projects with a view to:
• Increasing the probability that outputs from those projects are adopted by the target adopters; and
• Ensuring that resources are allocated appropriately among projects so that those projects that demonstrate a low likelihood of achieving adequate levels of adoption are not over-funded (notwithstanding MLA’s mandate with respect to certain industry sustainability and public interest issues) and that projects that demonstrate a high likelihood of being adopted are adequately funded.
The guidelines presented in this paper are based on several research and consulting projects undertaken by the Consultants on behalf of MLA over the past 18 months. These include:
• Review of the development and adoption history of LAMBPLAN;
• Review of innovation, extension and adoption of best practice sheep reproduction practices and technologies in southern Australia;
• Review of innovation, extension and adoption as it relates to best practice pasture utilization and natural resource management; and
• Hearts and Minds Discussion Paper4 and workshop which highlighted the main findings of the above reviews and made a series of recommendations as to processes that might be used to augment some of the practices MLA currently uses to manage internal and external projects in order to improve the likelihood of effective adoption and increase the efficiency of how resources are allocated to projects. The workshop also provided the opportunity for debate and discussion on the projects.
The reports relating to the above research and consulting activities are extensive and detailed and as such, this document should be read in conjunction with these reports. For the purpose of making this report a more practical management tool, it will not repeat the detail in these reports, but will refer to them as required.
Following the Hearts and Minds Workshop, MLA project managers were asked to consider what, if anything, they had taken away from the workshop and the Consultant’s reports and to engage with the consultants if they believed aspects of the Hearts and Minds Workshop or reports could add value to their specific projects. The following projects and project managers have expressed an interest in adapting some of the recommendations of the Hearts and Minds process to the management of the projects for which they are responsible:
• Dr Rob Banks, overall management of Southern Livestock team projects
• Dr Greg Harper, management of the Sheep Genomics Project
• Ian Bamford, EDGEnetwork Review
• David Falepau, Southern Beef R&D (development of innovations) and More Beef from Pastures (commercialization and delivery of innovations)
• Rodd Dyer, Wambiana Grazing Trial
To the date of this report, the Consultants have had discussions with Rob Banks, Greg Harper, Ian Bamford and to a lesser extent, David Falepau regarding application of the Hearts and Minds materials to their specific projects. Rodd Dyer is yet to engage.