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    RIRDC ANNUAL OPERATIONAL PLAN  1999 - 2000

    Appendices
    Return to Contents Page
     
    I. Transmittal Letter II.  Outcomes and Outputs – Focus for the R&D Programs
    III. RIRDC Sub-Accounts, 1997–1998 to 1999–2000 IV. Consultations with Stakeholders
    V.  Accountability Framework VI. Corporate Charter
    VII. RIRDC Research Managers VIII.   RIRDC R&D Advisory Committees
       

    I.  Transmittal Letter

    22 May 2000

    Senator the Honourable Judith Troeth
    Parliamentary Secretary to the
    Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
    Parliament House
    CANBERRA  ACT  2600
     

    Dear Senator Troeth

    I am pleased to submit for your approval the enclosed Annual Operational Plan of the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation for the financial year 2000–2001, as required under sections 25 and 26 of the Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act 1989.

    The key R&D features of the 2000–2001 Annual Operational Plan for each sub-program are summarised on pages 2 to 5. In accordance with legislative requirements, each of these seeks to link the industry outcomes with the strategies for achieving these outcomes and the principal outputs.

    The budget underpinning the Plan is on pages 8 to 12. Details on the individual industry sub-accounts are in Appendix III beginning on page 92.

    Last year, in our Annual Operational Plan Transmittal Letter, we foreshadowed that the Board would be reviewing its 1997–2002 R&D Plan to ensure that it had a clear outputs/outcomes focus. This review has now been completed and a revised Plan is being forwarded under separate cover. This 2000–2001 Annual Operational Plan has been drawn from this revised Five Year Plan.
     

    Yours sincerely
     

    Prof Elizabeth Woods
    Chair

    II. Outcomes and Outputs – Focus for the R&D Programs

    In keeping with the Commonwealth Government’s accrual-based budget framework, RIRDC’s planning, operating and reporting framework is centred on delivering outputs that help to achieve clearly stated planned outcomes.
    Key elements of the outcomes / outputs framework[1]
    Outcomes are the results, impacts or conse­quences of actions by RIRDC on the Australian community.[2]
    Outputs are the goods and services that RIRDC produces for external organisations or individuals.[3]

    Inputs are resources — in the form of people, expertise, materials, energy, facilities and funds — that RIRDC uses in activities to produce outputs.[4]

    Strategies are groupings of activities that produce the outputs required to achieve planned outcomes.

    One of the advantages of this system is that RIRDC’s efforts are focused not on the goods and services it produces but on actual outcomes in the environment in which it operates.  In essence, RIRDC’s planned outcomes are things that will make a real difference to Australia’s rural industries and the natural resources on which they depend.

    RIRDC’s planned outcomes reflect the Corporation’s strategic assessment of the economic, environmental and social factors challenging industry, governments, the community, research providers and R&D funding entities. The planned outcomes are consistent with RIRDC’s vision and mission, shown on page 1.

    RIRDC’s planned outcome for its four R&D programs is:
     

      A more profitable, dynamic and sustainable rural sector.


    The outputs of RIRDC’s fifth program, under which management and accountability activities are focused on continuously improving its services, do not directly contribute to outcomes; rather they enhance inputs to the other four programs, as shown in on page 14 of the Five Year Plan.

    Factors in achievement of outcomes

    Increased efficiencies have helped RIRDC to concentrate on high-priority activities in recent years and to contain total program support costs to 8 per cent of total budget.  Among them are the use of state-of-the-art information technology and continuous improvements to management processes within an ISO-certified quality management system.

    However, RIRDC’s investment in R&D and its planning and management activities will not in itself guarantee that its planned outcomes are achieved.  Such achievement depends on the active involvement and support of RIRDC’s stakeholders — particularly the potential beneficiaries of research results.

    Time lags and multiplicity of linkages between inputs, outputs and outcomes

    It is important to recognise that outputs that occur during a particular year generally result from inputs of previous years.  In turn, almost all outcomes are achieved as a result of outputs of previous years.  The reason is that, by the very nature of R&D and extension activities, it takes time for investment and actions to produce an effect.  Actual time lags vary according to the activities involved.

    Further, any given outcome is likely to be the product of a number of outputs, which in turn result from a diversity of inputs.

    Review, planning and conduct of activities

    RIRDC’s strategic assessment of the business environment is reflected in the Corporation’s funding targets for each R&D program, which are incorporated in the Annual Operational Plan.  Each year, RIRDC reviews its strategic assessment of the business environment.  The review may highlight significant or potential changes to the business environment that prompt RIRDC to adjust the balance — or to address gaps — in its R&D portfolio.  Consultation with RIRDC’s representative organisations is an important part of the review.

    It is also important that RIRDC evaluate research outcomes to ensure maximum effectiveness of R&D expenditure. However, using funds for evaluation reduces the funds available for research, and a trade-off has to be made.  Rigorous retrospective evaluation of research programs provides valuable information and should be used to guide the design of future research programs.[5  To this end, RIRDC undertakes various degrees of evaluation of all completed projects to determine their benefit and to feed back into the planning and funding process.

    1  Department of Finance and Administration 1998, Specifying outcomes and outputs, pp. 174–177.
    2  RIRDC includes rural industries, and the economic, environmental and social contexts in which they operate, in the term “Australian community”.
    3  Goods and services produced for RIRDC itself are not outputs.
    4  “Expertise” has been added to the DoFA definition by RIRDC.
    5  Industry Commission, Research and Development, Report No 44, AGPS, Canberra, 1995.

    III.  RIRDC Sub-Accounts, 1997–98 to 2000–2001

    The following Statements of Revenues and Expenditure are accounted for separately because there is a significant external input of funds other than the $11 million appropriated to RIRDC core operations. These external funds come from industry statutory levies, voluntary industry contributions or other funding agencies.
     
    Table 1: Agroforestry Sub-Account Table 2:   Tea Tree Oil Sub-Account
    Table 3:   Buffalo Sub-Account  Table 4:   Chicken Meat Sub-Account
    Table 5:   Deer Sub-Account Table 6:   Eggs Sub-Account
    Table 7:   Egg Industry Development Fund Sub-Account Table 8:   Goat Fibre Sub-Account
    Table 9:   Honeybee Sub-Account Table 10: Horse Sub-Account 
    Table 11: Pasture Seed Sub-Account Table 12: Rice Sub-Account

    Table 1: Agroforestry Sub-Account

             
     Actual 
     Actual 
     Forecast 
     Budget 
           
     
     1997/98 
     1998/99 
     1999/2000 
     2000/2001 
           
     
    		        
    OPENING BALANCE  
     
          43,090 
         276,498 
         805,356 
         233,007 
           
     
    		        
    REVENUES    
     
    		        
           
     
    		        
    External Contributions  
     
      1,171,291 
      2,715,038 
      2,223,686 
      3,099,217 
    Interest      
     
          22,734 
          53,174 
          45,000 
          45,000 
    Other Income    
     
                   - 
          26,675 
          22,000 
          20,000 
    RIRDC Core Contribution  
     
         753,765 
         700,000 
         713,000 
         913,000 
    TOTAL REVENUE  
     
      1,947,790 
      3,494,887 
      3,003,686 
      4,077,217 
           
     
    		        
    EXPENDITURE    
     
    		        
           
     
    		        
    Research and Development Program
      1,609,603 
      2,833,734 
      3,380,035 
      4,083,631 
           
     
    		        
    Research and Development Program Communications
                   - 
          59,267 
          55,000 
          72,593 
           
     
    		        
    Research Co-ordination and Management        
    Committee Fees & Expenses
     
            8,061 
          11,128 
          12,000 
          12,000 
    RIRDC Service Fees 1  
     
          86,553 
          45,000 
         114,000 
         125,000 
    Other      
     
          10,165 
          16,900 
          15,000 
          17,000 
           
     
         104,779 
          73,028 
         141,000 
         154,000 
           
     
    		        
    TOTAL EXPENDITURE  
     
      1,714,382 
      2,966,029 
      3,576,035 
      4,310,224 
           
     
    		        
    SURPLUS/(DEFICIT) OF REVENUES OVER EXPENDITURE
         233,408 
         528,858 
        (572,349)
        (233,007)
           
     
    		        
    CLOSING BALANCE  
     
         276,498 
         805,356 
         233,007 
                   - 
                     
                     
    1.  Represents funds paid to RIRDC for program management and financial administration services.
       
    1.  Includes a component of $114,000 in 1999/2000 ($45,000 in 1998/99) paid to RIRDC for program management services.
     

     RIRDC ANNUAL OPERATIONAL PLAN  1999 - 2000 - CONTENTS PAGE

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    Last updated: 21 June 2000  Copyright © RIRDC
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