HORTICULTURE research and development corporation Hort Innovation has been given a tick of approval in an independent performance review.
Reporting firm GHD Pty Ltd found Hort Innovation was "creating value for horticulture growers and those across the horticulture supply chain".
The independent review, which included assessing more than 200 documents and consulting 95 individuals (internal and external stakeholders), covered the period 2018-2023 in accordance with the requirements of its deed of agreement with the Australian government.
The last independent review of performance occurred in 2017.
Hort Innovation is responsible for managing and investing funds received from the levy payers of 37 horticultural industries.
It also matches eligible research and development contributions from the Australian government for the benefit of the Australian horticultural sector and the Australian community.
Hort Innovation was praised for its efforts to turnaround an organisation which had a reputation for lacking transparency and poor funds management.
In 2014, an independent review of Hort Innovation predecessor, Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL), found it suffered from conflicts of interest and delivered limited value for money.
HAL was replaced by Hort Innovation Australia (HIA) which itself copped flack from growers because of its low membership uptake in the early stages.
HIA was later rebranded as just Hort Innovation.
The latest report makes mention of the "considerable transition" for the company and its stakeholders from the previous review (2017) which reported "a level of dissatisfaction amongst a number of its stakeholders".
GHD found stakeholder relations continued to be difficult through the early years of the current review period.
"At the same time, Hort Innovation was challenged by a number of inefficiencies in its business systems and processes," the report said.
"Amongst other influences, these factors impacted organisational culture, employee satisfaction and staff retention.
But Hort Innovation's board and executive have sought to address these issues and drive continuous improvement across the organisation, according to GHD.
It praised the suite of internal reviews including Reset and Refresh, Project Max, a marketing reset and change implementation plan, governance review and recent organisational restructure.
"GHD found that while in the early stages, there are indications that these initiatives are already realising significant benefits," the report said.
"In particular, there has been a considerable improvement in stakeholder relationships and a positive shift in employee engagement and staff retention.
"Importantly, the review found no instances of non-compliance with the deed of agreement and identified that there is a positive culture of continuous improvement amongst the current board and executive team."
"In summary, it is considered that as the industry-owned RDC for the Australian horticulture sector, the company is creating value for horticulture growers and those across the horticulture supply chain."
GHD reported that levy fund investments sampled over the review period have been found to deliver positive returns on investment with benefit cost ratios ranging from 2.22 to 5.83.
Hort Innovation is set to release a new company strategy for 2024-2026.
In the company's response to the review, Hort Innovation chair Julie Bird said the board agreed with all 13 of the recommendations.
"Many of the recommendations from GHD are focused on continuing the improvements that had already been identified and actioned by the board and the executive team," Ms Bird said.
"Pleasingly, both our stakeholders and GHD recognise the effectiveness of the initiatives we have put in place over the last 18 months to progress the company's continuous improvement.
"Our commitment to continuous improvement is a strong theme in the Hort Innovation Strategy 2024-2026 including the imperative to Work Simply and Effectively by minimising complexity in our systems and processes, and by committing to transparent relationships with our stakeholders.
"While the IRP is an important assessment of our performance, we are always open to feedback on how we can better serve you as your research and development corporation.
"For example, we are implementing a deeper and broader program of stakeholder feedback mechanisms, including an annual Grower and Partner Survey, post Strategic Investment Advisory Panel (SIAP) surveys, twice yearly Peak Industry Body (PIB) Forums, and more visits from the Hort Innovation Team across Australia.
"By hearing from you more often we will understand better the opportunities to make improvements to our service delivery for industry on a continual basis."
Ashley Walmsley
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
