'Empowering II' sought to develop an ongoing, cost-effective and transparent process, whereby the best industry RD&E ideas, on a national or regional scale, could be obtained, linked with the most suitable RD&E providers, and developed into successful projects with valuable industry outcomes...

The Australian wild abalone industry contributes $200 million annually to the national economy and directly employs an estimated 1,650 people across 5 States (NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia). Over 99 percent of production is exported, primarily to north East Asia....