• On the Fast Track up and running. An exciting project designed to build the skills of people involved in capacity building activities and bring together CVCB research is up and running. 
• CVCB evaluation - have your say!  Don’t foget to have your say about the CVCB and what you would like from it in future. A survey, being managed by Hassall and Associates, is being sent to all Capacit-E recipients this month. 
• Costs and benefits of capacity building collaboration. Your invitation to participate in a web based discussion about collaboration in capacity building projects this month. 
• Making the connection between agribusiness and RDCs. After reviewing progress with this project late last year a potentially productive area of focus identified is to improve understanding of the agribusiness sector among RDCs.
• Work out there. Find out some of the things that are happening out there with capacity building
• Handy links. Links to websites with useful tips for capacity building and working with groups.
• Steering Committee. Who’s on the CVCB steering committee.
• Contacts. Who to go to for more information about the CVCB.
• To subscribe or unsubscribe

On the Fast Track involves participants from CVCB member organisations and their partners working with mentors and learning from the experiences of each other to apply capacity building principles to their own programs. Integral to this is using the principles developed in CVCB research projects (see CVCB factsheets at http://www.rirdc.gov.au/capacitybuilding/reports.html). 
The project is being managed by Ruth Nettle from Dairy Australia.

According to Chris Murphy, Program Manager from Dairy Australia, the project is a route to market for the CVCB’s research findings - research that the dairy industry has co-invested in over the last 5 years. 

“It is a great opportunity for senior dairy industry change agents and project managers to be up to date on the research, and be mentored through improving their approaches. 

“The people participating in the project are the engine room for change in the industry, and having them work with and learn from similarly influential people from other industries is a real bonus. The consistency and effectiveness of the dairy industries capacity building work will be the winner from this," he explained.

As Chris says, one of the strengths of the projects is the great variety of people participating in the project. With the mix of different skills and experience, the project promises to be a great learning opportunity for all involved. 

Participants are from Sugar Research and Development Corporation, Cotton Research & Development Corporation, Dairy Australia, Australian Wool Innovation, Grains Research and Development Corporation, Meat and Livestock Australia and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, as well as Queensland and NSW departments of primary industries, United Dairy Farmers of Victoria, APEN members and CRT. 

Workshops to kick off. Two-day workshops to introduce the project, participants and mentors will be held in April and May in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The workshops will involve presentations from participants about their capacity building issues and learning activities based on a workbook that is being developed at the moment specifically for the project. Each participant will also develop an action plan to address their particular capacity building issues. The role of mentors is to support the participants as they put their plan into action for the rest of the year.

A second two-day workshop is scheduled for November and December 2007 for participants to share the results from their work and gain input from other industries and individuals about next steps.

Communication via BLOG. As part of the project we are also testing the effectiveness of a BLOG as a communications tool. You can check out the BLOG at http://onthefastrack.blogspot.com/ and register to receive updates if you are interested. 

More information? Contact Dr Ruth Nettle (CVCB member project leader), email ranettle@unimelb.edu.au, phone 03 83444581, 0419 569 684.

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The survey is one part of a project being conducted by Hassall & Associates evaluating the impact of the CVCB since its inception and recommending future directions.  So far the evaluation has reviewed the CVCB’s projects and interviewed researchers and partners and provided a preliminary report to RIRDC.  In the next stage feedback from the broader community involved in the CVCB is being sought through the survey.  After that a final evaluation report will be provided to RIRDC and the CVCB, and will be available on the website later this year. 

If you have any queries or would like to pass on any feedback about the CVCB you can contact Jan Paul van Moort from Hassall & Associates at jvanmoort@hassall.com.au phone 0410 005 0132. 

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The focus is to explore the costs and benefits of collaboration, a topic identified as a high priority for agriculture and Natural Resource Management. This discussion is part of the CVCB’s Policy Implications project.

While collaboration is often promoted in agriculture and NRM circles, the transaction costs of collaboration have been questioned during this project. The web-discussion will help develop criteria for “success” in collaboration for capacity building.

If you are interested in contributing to this discussion send an email to alexandra.robertson@uq.edu.au with “costs and benefits of collaboration – YES” in the subject line. You can also say what your area of interest is in the body of the email if you wish. For more information contact Dana Kelly d.kelly@uq.edu.au

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These issues were discussed at the CVCB meeting held last week. One of the items up for discussion was an overarching engagement strategy with agribusiness that has synergies across the RDCs while meeting individual sector needs. Other key issues considered were:

• segmentation and drivers of farmers and growers and the agribusinsess sector
• what motivates agribusiness in its decision making and its business dealings with grower clients
• what agribusiness wants and needs from a relationship with RDCs
• how RDCs and agribusiness might do business, especially in terms of the transaction costs
• the cultural drivers and issues of growers, agribusiness and RDCs.

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Sugar groups as well as, where needed, support new groups. 

“There is such enthusiasm and energy, as well as skill in the sugar industry.

“It’s vitally important that everyone who wants to be involved has the opportunity. The main way of doing this is to establish groups of women based in specific cane-growing areas, and to work with groups such as the Women in Sugar Network, which has been operating for around 20 years,” Cathy explained.

The groups are a way of harnessing the very obvious enthusiasm and skill that exists among many women in the sugar industry to contribute and become more involved.

The project, “CANEGROWERS ‚ strategy for women and teams”, has three key aims:

1. to build the leadership capacities of women involved in the sugar industry 
2. to increase the involvement of women in training and education programs 
3. to develop closer links between CANEGROWERS and women involved in sugar.

The project will finish in June this year. If you would like more information, contact Cathy McGowan, phone 02 60 246834, email cathy@cathymcgowan.com

Integrating capacity building and R&D
The Cotton Research and Development Corporation has taken a thorough look at how its R&D might be shaped in the future. One of the key factors identified that will be crucial to the organisation's work with the farm and service sectors is capacity building. 

While CRDC's R&D process has been successful in having new techniques and technologies taken up by the industry in the past, it is recognised that there will have to be shift in focus to ensure that results are delivered to the farm and taken up in future. Central to this shift will be a change from what has often been a linear process, characteristic across the rural R&D sector, to one that would take greater account of the capacity of industry to take up the results of proposed research. 

According to Rohan Boehm from CRDC, the aim of any new approach would be to ensure that capacity building, extension, research and development are integrated into the design of projects at initiation more so than has been the case in the past.

This shift is well supported by industry stakeholders consulted as part of a new 5-year strategic planning process established early 2007 by CRDC. While that process is at the early stage of development, it is interesting to note that the support for a fresh approach appears to be driven by industry understanding of the need.

The power of capacity building through theatre
A little while ago I received an enquiry from Simon, who works in Melbourne with the Centre for Multi-Cultural Issues as a capacity builder for their mentorship program. 

His enthusiasm for the power of theatre in engaging communities was obvious:

“I am already working on a program from there where I can involve emerging communities and engage them on community and cultural issues affecting them thereby involving the community in the creation and presentation of there ideas . 

Theatre is amazing in that it offers a voice to a community giving it an option for educating itself from within on issues that might be inherent. For example, I recently attended a supervision for case workers and some of the issues raised by the case worker in the Eritrean community, such as health issues and domestic violence, can be de-stigmatised through performances by members of the same community bringing awareness and hopefully, with close monitoring, an improvement in those areas.”

If you are interested in this area, a report from a project part funded by the CVCB called “Creating inspiration - how visual and performing arts shape environmental behaviour” will be published soon. Keep an eye on the website!

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Featured on the website are soils, which are vital to agriculture and to the design of irrigation systems and their management. The Soil Knowledge Broker Team is part of the CKE project and is supported by a group drawn from catchment management authorities, DPI and DSE in Victoria.

The CKE is also testing a Soils Discussion Forum to help exchange knowledge about soils and their management. If you have a question about soils that you would like to post to the board, register on the website and go to the discussion board. (http://www.catchmentknowledgeexchange.net.au/)

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• Kevin Goss (Chairman), CRC for Plant-Based Management of Dryland Salinity
• Jane Fisher, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation
• Ruth Nettle, Dairy Australia
• Claudia Wythes, Australian Wool Innovation
• Tom McCue, Grains Research and Development Corporation
• Tony Clancy, Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation
• Ian Bamford, Meat & Livestock Australia
• Elwin Turnbull, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Australia
• Michael Lester, Land & Water Australia
• Diana Maldonado, Sugar Research and Development Corporation
• Bruce Pyke, Cotton Research and Development Corporation
• Richard Stephens, Horticulture Australia Ltd 
• John McKenzie, John McKenzie and Associates (Program Manager and Executive Officer)

Jane Fisher, RIRDC, phone (02) 6271 6498, email jane.fisher@rirdc.gov.au
John McKenzie, John McKenzie and Associates, phone 0402 018 318, email mckenzj@ix.net.au

Website
For information about the CVCB and projects go to website www.rirdc.gov.au and click on the Cooperative Venture page.

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