THE MANAGEMENT of a leviathan research and development business such as the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) is always going to be burdened by complexities.
The allocation of hundreds of millions of research dollars each year to a myriad of projects requires detailed processes and systems.
However, GRDC managing director Steve Jefferies hopes a simple mission statement can provide a clear picture of exactly what the GRDC is about.
“When I started in the role earlier in the year we had a lot of discussion about just what exactly it was that GRDC does.”
“We came up with a statement which I think concisely reflects what we want to be.”
The one line mission statement reads ‘the GRDC is to invest in research, development and extension to create enduring profitability for Australian grain growers’.
Dr Jefferies said while the statement seemed simple, every word was meaningful.
“We use the word invest, rather than fund or provide, as that is what we are doing, the dollars we spend are an investment for growers, we are there as research partners”
“We also deliberately use the word ‘create’ instead of ‘provide’ as we want to be unlocking new opportunities for growers.”
Finally, he said the reference to ‘profitability’ rather than ‘productivity’ was reflective of a subtle shift in focus for the GRDC.
“Previously, we have been all about increasing total productivity, but the most productive crops are not necessarily those that make growers the most money so we are shifting our thinking there.”
Dr Jefferies said there was a challenge in satisfying the needs of so many stakeholders in such a geographically diverse area, but said he believed a hub and spoke model could provide the best ‘bang for buck’.
“You look at the examples of big, successful private businesses conducting a lot of R&D, like Apple, and they have a big centralised research area.
“In my previous role with (grain breeder) AGT, we did a similar thing, so I think if we have a centralised platform then invest in the field from there where it is needed we will get good results.”
Dr Jefferies said although there is an incredibly diverse amount of work conducted in grains R&D the basic concept of how to add value for growers was, again, remarkably similar.
“Growers’ profitability is set by their yield times the price they get minus their costs.
“Whatever we are doing is going to be assisting with one of those three factors, either increasing yield or the price farmers get for their grain or by cutting production costs.”
He said the GRDC would continue to fund work across a range of areas ranging from grassroots in-paddock trials, generally in conjunction with local partners, right through to more blue sky type work.
“We’ve got the areas where you will see incremental gains, where we can add a couple of percent to yield or cut costs by a few dollars a hectare and then we’ve got the medium tiered projects where we are looking to implement a step change by significantly improving a certain area.
“Finally, there is the work on projects that could potentially mean transformative change for the industry.
“This type of work will often be longer term and less likely to provide a result, but if we do get something to come off in this space it is going to be a big deal.”
“The best way forward is to have a presence in all of these spaces and not to be skewed too far in any one particular area.”
Dr Jefferies also said he was looking to provide conditions suitable to attracting the best possible researchers.
“There was feedback that there were too many short-term projects where researchers were spending more time writing funding applications than doing their research so we are looking at allowing researchers a better working environment while still ensuring they remain accountable.”