Implementing the FRDC's 2020-25 R&D Plan - Strategic activities
The FRDC's new R&D Plan signals a change of direction, building on systems thinking, and acknowledges a need to find new and better ways to make progress, including building on design-thinking to ensure that the right problems are solved, the right way. There is opportunity, as this is done, to leverage off shifting occupational norms associated with the continuing COVID-19 pandemic by experimenting with new, less expensive, more inclusive and democratic ways of thinking and working together that might endure into the future.
The FRDC’s new R&D Plan signals an intent to co-invest and collaborate more actively in order to deliver impact, and this will be particularly important in early years to overcome revenue limitations associated with COVID impacts.
The 2020-25 R&D Plan also describes an intention to develop and implement a new performance measurement framework to coordinate the monitoring of organisational progress against the five R&D Plan outcomes, as well as corporate performance. The aim is for the framework to be adaptive and updateable as new information becomes available, and as benchmarks for best practice change.
To assist in planning and investing in a complex and adaptive system it is proposed to scope and implement new process for collating and generating insights from intelligence, that will provide continuous feedback on external conditions, technology changes and external factors likely to be relevant in the future.
This proposal seeks to enable building of the foundations for implementing the FRDC's 2020-25 R&D Plan, scoping and implementing the new intelligence system, delivery of consultation to guide implementation of the plan, and enabling finalisation and implementation of the new performance management framework.
National Recreational Fishing Conference bursary 2019
Seafood Escape Showcasing NSW
Extension and synthesis of key FRDC research areas
The FRDC have been looking at how best to undertake extension of research projects. A number of options and solutions have been identified. One considered and supported by attendees at the Annual FRDC Stakeholder Workshop. is to undertaken issue specific analysis – research synthesis.
Final report
Harvest strategies provide pre-planned actions ensuring sustainable fish populations while considering economic and social aspects. This report summarises an extension webinar where researchers, managers, and stakeholders discussed the development and implementation of these strategies. The FRDC has funded several past and current projects pertaining to Harvest Strategy development and implementation and continues to receive interest from a range of stakeholders around further research and development opportunities in this space. To promote discussion, extension, and adoption across current and recent related investments in harvest strategy R&D, the FRDC hosted an independently facilitated extension webinar. The webinar provided an opportunity for Project Investigators to socialise their research, extend the latest learning in this dynamic policy/research space, and promote a dialogue among research providers, fisheries managers, and harvest strategy practitioners.
FRDC also intended the webinar to inform the ongoing review of national guidelines for developing harvest strategies. This review aims to ensure these strategies align with best practices and address evolving challenges. The webinar identified three key themes: technical approaches, stakeholder engagement, and policy development. Future research needs include addressing multi-sector fisheries, spatial management, and climate impacts. The overall conclusion emphasizes a collaborative, data-driven approach that incorporates diverse stakeholder voices for effective fisheries management.
Project products
2019 Bi-Annual Seafood Industry Awards
Fish and Chips Awards 2019 - development of long term strategy
In 2017-18 the FRDC undertook a new approach to the Bi-Annual Seafood Awards. The goal was to create debate around seafood, raise its profile and use this as a vehicle to promote information about sustainability, fisheries management and the R&D being undertaken to underpin it. The approach worked very well generating over 90,000 votes, hundreds of media articles and millions of consumer views of that media coverage.
There is a need to ensure that the base that developed in the first two years is not lost and that the FRDC build on it further.
The initial trial delivered positive results, however their is a great deal of opportunity to still capitalise upon. Delivering content to the 60,000 subscribers and showcase to consumers how sustainable the Australian seafood industry has become.
In 2019 the other driver is the Biennial Seafood Directions conference and National Seafood Awards are on again - with fish and chips again a category.
There is also a need for FRDC to demonstrate how an activity such as the Awards can deliver tangible results - to do this the FRDC are looking to drive opinion with consumers and behaviour with shops.
Developing FRDC’s 2020-2025 RD&E Plan
Industry capability and mapping report and workshop
There is a need to undertake a capability and capacity audit given that the landscape has changed and also that SIA is now established. This should be by way of a review and then workshop to discuss roles and responsibilities.
Final report
The current functional capability (staff, funding, systems, networks) of the SIA organisation is limited as it establishes itself as the leader in a new national seafood industry governance structure. In this early stage SIA is significantly reliant on its members and seafood stakeholders, whose existing capacity and capability range widely across many seafood issues. However, several existing mature seafood organisations have developed and now hold significant professional capability in key areas relevant to their respective needs and to SIA’s charter.
• Map the organisational capacity and capability based on consultation with leading seafood organisations,
• Provide data to FRDC and SIA regarding the assessment of capability options for SIA,
• Establish a spreadsheet tool to enable ready updating and analysis of seafood functions in the future.