The GRDC
In this section:
Purpose
The GRDC was established to help the Australian grains industry meet the aims of the Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act 1989 (PIERD Act), namely:
- increasing the economic, environmental and social benefits to members of primary industries and to the community in general by improving the production, processing, storage, transport or marketing of grain
- achieving sustainable use and management of natural resources
- making more effective use of the resources and skills of the community in general and the scientific community in particular
- improving accountability for expenditure on R&D activities.
The functions of the GRDC under the PIERD Act include coordinating or funding R&D activities; monitoring, evaluating and reporting on the impact of R&D activities on the grains industry and the wider community; and facilitating the dissemination, adoption and commercialisation of the results of R&D.
Funding
The primary sources of the GRDC's annual revenue are a levy collected from grain growers, based on the farm gate value of grain produced, and contributions from the Australian Government. There are 25 leviable crops, spanning temperate and tropical cereals, coarse grains, pulses and oilseeds.1
The amount of levy revenue received each year depends on a number of risks, including drought or other weather events, pest or disease outbreaks, grain price fluctuations, the Australian dollar exchange rate and significant shifts away from grains in the farm business mix. During the plan period, the GRDC will continue to manage its financial reserves to minimise its exposure to risk from such factors.
The amount of the Government contribution is determined annually by the Australian Government and based on the three-year rolling average gross value of production of the 25 leviable crops.
1Leviable Crops are: wheat; course grains-barley, oats, sorghum, maize, triticale, millets/panicums, cereal rye and canary seed; pulses-lupins, field peas, chickpeas, faba beans, vetch, peanuts, mung beans, navy beans, pigeon peas, cowpeas and lentils; and oilseeds-canola, sunflower, soybean, safflower and linseed.
Relationships with stakeholders
The GRDC works closely with its two key customer groups: Australian grain growers and the Australian Government.
Grain grower interests are served by ensuring the GRDC Board and the GRDC's national and regional panels have grains industry expertise, and through the consultation and reporting relationships established by statute between the GRDC and the grains industry’s representative organisation, the Grains Council of Australia.
In addition to the direct benefits of the GRDC's activities to the grains industry, the Australian Government’s priorities are met through the benefits that flow on to the economy and the wider community. The GRDC works with various Australian Government departments and agencies, but particularly the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The Australian Government has set out National Research Priorities and closely related Rural R&D Priorities, which are subject to periodic review. The Strategic R&D Plan, Prosperity through Innovation, demonstrates how the GRDC will address these research priorities over the next five years.
The GRDC also maintains strong relationships with its other stakeholders: research partners, including state departments, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), universities, cooperative research centres (CRCs), other rural R&D Corporations (RDCs); grower groups; and co-investors in the private sector.
Organisational Structure
Figure 1 - Organisational structure
Board
A board of directors, headed by a Chairman, governs the GRDC. The Board has combined expertise in business management; commodity production, processing and marketing; economics; finance; sociology; management and conservation of natural resources and the environment; R&D administration; intellectual property management; science and technology transfer; and public administration. In accordance with the PIERD Act, the GRDC Board members are appointed based on their skills and experience.
Executive Management Team
An Executive Management Team, headed by the Managing Director, leads the GRDC's nationwide operations. As well as advising the GRDC Board, the Executive Management Team is responsible for realising the Board’s priorities and managing and evaluating R&D investments in the Australian grains industry.
Panel system
The panel system is a key strength of the GRDC. The panels play an important advisory and strategic role in GRDC investments. The Board makes decisions with the support of the National Panel, informed by the knowledge and experience of regional panels and program teams. The program teams comprise members of the regional panels and GRDC managers. The panel system helps to ensure that the GRDC's investments are directed towards the interests of Australian grain growers and the Australian Government and remain closely aligned with the lines of business (LOB) strategies.
National Panel
The National Panel includes the three regional panel chairs, the Managing Director and the GRDC's executive managers.
The National Panel recommends to the Board the GRDC's corporate and LOB strategies, and assists the Board in maintaining linkages with the Australian grain growers, the Australian Government, and research partners. Based on advice from program teams, the National Panel also develops and recommends proposals for the national elements of the GRDC's research investments.
Regional panels
The GRDC's three regional panels cover the northern, southern and western grain growing regions of Australia. They are made up of grain growers, agribusiness practitioners, scientists and the GRDC's executive managers, with provision for other industry experts to participate as appropriate. Regional panel members also participate as members of the GRDC's investment program teams.
The panels work closely with grower groups and organisations, and have formal interactions with local Research Advisory Committees, which refer research issues to the panels on an annual basis. The regional panels develop and monitor the regional priorities in the GRDC's R&D investments. Supported by the LOBs and Corporate Strategy & Program Support, panel members assess regional investment proposals and undertake risk analyses of these investments. The regional panels help to ensure that the investment plan responds to the regional and national priorities of grain growers and the Australian Government, and is aligned with the GRDC's corporate strategies and LOB strategies.
Lines of business and enabling functions
At the operational level, the GRDC's organisational structure is divided into four LOBs: Practices, Varieties, New Products and Communication & Capacity Building. These closely reflect the four pathways to market that demonstrate the most potential to deliver profits to Australian grain growers and reward sustainable farming practices. The LOBs are supported by the two enabling functions of Corporate Services and Corporate Strategy & Program Support.
Strategic approach
Objective and strategies
The GRDC's primary objective is to support effective competition by Australian grain growers in global grain markets, through enhanced profitability and sustainability.
Figure 2 shows how the GRDC's four corporate strategies and associated LOB strategies for the next five years support the primary objective. This Strategic R&D Plan explains in detail how these strategies will be applied to the GRDC's business activities.
The GRDC's business activities include the allocation and management of R&D investments in pre-breeding, breeding, national variety trials, agronomy, soils and environment, crop protection, validation and integration, extension and grower programs, new grain products, new farm products and services, capacity building and communication.
Figure 2 - Overview of R&D strategies, 2007-12
Note: Superior varieties - varieties with superior yield, quality and disease resistance
Value chain
The GRDC ‘value chain’, shown in Figure 3, illustrates how the GRDC implements its strategies, to create value for its stakeholders, through five core business processes and eight key enabling activities. The starting point of the value chain is the grain growers’ levy and funds from the Australian Government, while the end point is ensuring, through the achievement of the LOB strategies, that grain growers effectively compete in global grain markets.
Figure 3 - Value chain
Collaboration with other RDCs
To increase the effectiveness and efficiency of Australia’s rural R&D investment, by eliminating duplication and fragmentation on cross-industry issues, the GRDC will continue to collaborate with other RDCs through a range of co-investment, coordination and communication activities.
Joint projects which the GRDC will continue to support over the next five years include:
- Cooperative Venture for Capacity Building—with Australian Wool Innovation, Dairy Australia, the Grape and Wine RDC, Meat and Livestock Australia, the Rural Industries RDC and the Sugar RDC
- Managing Climate Variability Program —with Australian Wool Innovation, Dairy Australia, Land and Water Australia, Meat and Livestock Australia, the Rural Industries RDC and the Sugar RDC
- Pastures Australia—with Australian Wool Innovation, Dairy Australia, Meat and Livestock Australia and the Rural Industries RDC.
Through the Council of Rural Research and Development Corporation Chairs, the GRDC will continue to identify and pursue areas of common interest for investment, including biosecurity, food safety and energy.
The GRDC will also take part in a joint project to develop an online tool that enables government agencies and other authorised users to access a central database of research information generated by RDC-supported projects.
The GRDC is committed to working with the other RDCs to ensure that enabling technologies will deliver a single entry point that allows access and connectivity to RDC repositories of research information.
To increase the effectiveness and efficiency of Australia's rural R&D investment, by eliminating duplication and fragmentation on cross-industry issues, the GRDC will collaborate with other RDCs through co-investment, coordination and communication.
Performance evaluation and reporting
Evaluating the impact of R&D investments and reporting to stakeholders on performance are part of the GRDC's core business. During the plan period, the GRDC will continually assess the performance of programs and projects against its strategies and stakeholders’ priorities, and report to stakeholders regularly.
The GRDC will periodically survey its research partners, Australian grain growers and the Australian Government to measure their satisfaction on the effectiveness of the corporation’s activities, with a view to continually improving its performance. The GRDC will also conduct impact assessments of its R&D investments to effectively evaluate the benefits that GRDC-supported R&D is delivering to the grains industry as well as the benefits that flow on to the wider community.
Productivity trends in the grains industry are used as a measure of the benefits of R&D activities. The GRDC will monitor total factor productivity across the main agroecological zones to assess the industry-wide impact of the GRDC's corporate strategies and corresponding R&D investments.
In addition, each LOB strategy has specific and relevant performance indicators that will be used to evaluate the implementation of the strategy during the plan period.
Corporate governance
The GRDC recognises the value of strong corporate governance. In seeking to continuously improve its performance, the GRDC periodically assesses its overall approach and ongoing development against the Australian National Audit Office Guidelines for Best Practice Corporate Governance.
As a statutory corporation, the GRDC must meet certain corporate planning and reporting requirements. Through its Board, the GRDC is accountable to the Australian Parliament through the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
An outline of the GRDC's corporate governance framework, including the GRDC's planning and reporting approach, is provided in Table 1.
Table 1 - Elements of the GRDC's corporate governance framework
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Enabling legislation | The Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act 1989 (PIERD Act) sets out the legislative framework and rules for the establishment and operation of the GRDC. |
| Governance legislation | As well as its responsibilities under the PIERD Act, the corporation has accountability and reporting obligations set out in the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997, the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies (Report of Operations) Orders 2005 and annual Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Orders (Financial Statements). |
| Quality management system | The GRDC applies systematic processes, certified to quality standard AS/NZ ISO 9001:2000, designed to demonstrate clear leadership on quality and the benefits to be derived from continuous improvement and to promote quality assurance to stakeholders and other people or organisations with whom the GRDC is involved. |
| Environmental management | The GRDC reports annually on its performance in relation to ecologically sustainable development and other matters outlined in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. |
| Financial control | The GRDC maintains accounts and records of transactions and affairs in accordance with accepted accounting principles generally applied in commercial practice and with legislative requirements. |
| Audit processes | Independent internal and external audits are applied to financial, risk, fraud, quality and R&D management. |
| Fraud and risk management | As part of the quality management system, the GRDC's fraud and risk management framework includes processes for project, program and portfolio level risk management, general compliance and operational risk management and financial risk management, and prudential guidelines for business ventures. |
| Monitoring performance | The GRDC monitors and measures performance to continually improve its effectiveness and efficiency. |
| Reporting to stakeholders | The GRDC reports regularly to stakeholders, including through formal reporting to the Grains Council of Australia; publication of annual reports, R&D newsletters and stakeholder reports; and participation in conferences, workshops, grower updates and other activities. |
| Planning and reporting |
The elements of the GRDC's corporate planning and reporting approach include:
|