Program Overview

Background and Long-Term Strategy

The people, or human capital, engaged in rural industries drive innovation and change leading to improved productivity and sustainability. Many agencies, both government and agribusiness, aim to build human capital by providing knowledge and skills to utilise new production systems and technologies.

Research and development to improve the educative and delivery processes that underpin these services will enhance this human capital. Human capital also rests on the physical and mental health of people within a community as well as their ability to contribute to the community's well-being.

Enhanced learning systems enable farm managers to access the knowledge and skills required for innovation and change. There is recognition that learning systems to enhance adoption and implementation of research require ongoing development, including new thinking about ways of interacting with client groups, and testing of new technologies related to internet applications for their application to rural life. This research is important for maintaining viable industries and communities in rural Australia.

Key long term strategies

To facilitate high quality R&D in order to:

• explore change processes in the rural social landscape and the interactions between the groups and issues involved
• improve understanding of the elements of human and social capital contributing to innovative, strong and resilient people
• optimise the use of formal and informal learning systems and facilitate adoption of improved practices