Evaluation
In part, this growth is generated by the Rural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs). There are 15 RDCs represented by the CRRDCC and they form a partnership between industry and government. Their role is to prioritise, coordinate and integrate the demands of industry and government with the capabilities of research providers.
In 2008-09, the RDCs invested around $411 million per year in R&D to improve the profitability and sustainability of rural industries and communities.
For every $1.00 contributed by the Australian Government, industry levies and contributions add a further $1.50, on average. This serves to leverage the total investment and create far greater benefits for Australia than would otherwise be the case.
The structure of the RDCs and the extensive collaboration between the organisations involved promotes effective research, development, innovation and extension of research findings in priority areas such as climate change and natural resource management. The ability to tackle projectsjointly increases efficiency and can result in more effective communication and uptake of the outcomes of R&D. This contributes directly to the growth in productivity in Australian agriculture.
The RDCs embrace the Australian Government’s National Research Priorities and Rural Research and Development Priorities in their investment, evaluation and reporting frameworks. Alignment with these priorities is a key consideration when setting strategic directions and making key investment decisions.
The reports below provide the results of the first two years of an ongoing collective evaluation of the impact,effectiveness and return on investment from the RDCs. Further work by the RDCs will build on these results. The evaluation was undertaken to provide robust and objective information on the overall economic, social and environmental returns produced by the RDC portfolio. This is the largest evaluation of rural R&D undertaken so far in Australia.
Download the full 2009 evaluation report
Download the full 2008 evaluation report
Download a summary of the 2008 report
Order a hard copy of the full evaluation report for your files here.
