Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation


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1998 RIRDC ANNUAL REPORT:

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Corporation revenues were $22.1 million in 1997-98, up from $16.2 million in 1996-97. The increase was due to the increase in direct federal government funding to $10.8 million in 1997-98 from $5.6 million in 1996-97. Funding was lower in 1996-97 to reduce the cash reserves held by the Corporation.

Total outlays in 1997-98 were $20.9 million compared with $21.4 million in 1996-97. These outlays were:

In 1997-98, the Corporation significantly expanded its use of information transfer mechanisms:
The web site now provides access to final reports and all of our corporate publications. It is now the primary reference point on our operations.

The Corporation produced Research-in-Progress, June 1998, which summarised the position of each continuing project under contract at the end of the reporting period and provided a synopsis on each project completed in 1997-98. This project-by-project summary is also available from our web site.

Segments were sponsored on the TV program ‘Cross Country’ to highlight the output of particular projects.
The Corporation commenced its ‘short report’ series, which summarises the key outcomes from projects. These reports are available free of charge from the Corporation and, again, are accessible on our web site.

Many more final reports coming from contracted projects are now being examined and disseminated by the Corporation. Just over 100 final reports were published by the Corporation in 1997-98 and most are available from our web site. Corporation revenue from publication sales was $200 000 in 1997-98, double the 1996-97 revenue.

On 10 December 1997 the Federal Minister for Communications and the Arts, Senator the Honourable Richard Alston, launched the Australian Farmers’ Guide to the Internet. This was a joint project between the Corporation and Farmwide, a subsidiary company of the National Farmers’ Federation. Just over 2000 copies were sold in 1997-98 and the publication has been a catalyst in encouraging the use of the web in rural industries.

In February 1998 the Corporation published a reference manual on new and emerging industries of Australian agriculture. This manual covers nearly 100 investment options and is seen as an essential ‘first step’ reference to those wanting to adjust their current enterprise mix or follow an agricultural pursuit. A more in-depth review of the profitability of selected new rural industries was commissioned in May 1998. As at June 1998, around 2500 copies of

The New Rural Industries: A Handbook for Farmers and Investors had been sold.
Another major output of the Corporation in 1997-98 was Missed Opportunities – Harnessing the Potential of Women in Australian Agriculture. This project calculated the value of rural women’s contribution to agriculture, identified barriers to women’s’ greater participation and proposed strategies for lifting participation. The key recommendations are now being tested in two case studies.

The Corporation produced four new five year plans for its sub-programs in 1997-98 covering chicken meat, eggs, organic produce and fodder. These plans are an essential reference for research contractors and industry in ‘getting the direction right’ and these four additional plans mean that nearly all industry-specific programs run by the Corporation are now covered.

As part of its ongoing evaluation of completed projects in 1997-98, the Corporation sampled projects in Program 2 ‘Emerging New Industries’ to measure their economic impacts. The results showed internal rates of return ranging from 3 to 61 per cent for the sampled projects, with most greater than the Corporation’s performance target of 20 per cent. In a separate evaluation of projects in Sub-Program 1.2 ‘New Animal Products’, returns from research into both the emu and alpaca industries showed internal rates of return of 19 and 34 per cent, which exceeded the Corporation’s performance target of 15 per cent.

While significant effort was put into upgrading our external communications in 1997-98, the Corporation recognised that a more strategic framework that focussed more on adoption was required. Between February and May 1998 a review was undertaken and, in June 1998, the Board took the first steps towards ‘communications for adoption’ by agreeing that:
 

• Program Managers should be more ‘business managers’ than ‘research managers’;
• Program Managers should have the primary responsibility for ensuring the delivery of quality information back to industry;
• future annual operational plans of the Corporation should include a specific communications and marketing element for each program area; and
• this shift in the balance of responsibilities of Program Managers will involve a fundamental adjustment in the culture of the Corporation.

In June 1998 the Corporation was granted ‘Registered Research Agency’ status under the Industry Research and Development Act 1996. This development helps clarify the tax treatment of industry funds contributed to projects and should encourage individual investors to increase their input into project-specific proposals.

RIRDC Revenues – 1997–1998
 

RIRDC Expenses – 1997–1998

  RIRDC – Revenues vs Expenses and Investment, 1997–1998

 

REVENUES		VS	EXPENSES & INVESTMENT
Interest	$788,859		Administration	$957,987
Other Income	$2,296,127		Corporate Activities	$542,034
Industry Levies	$4,417,483		Communications	$658,144
Commonwealth Contributions	$3,731,384		Research Co-ordination & Management	$1,290,203
Commonwealth Appropriation	$10,820,000		Future Agricultural Systems	$3,604,266
			Established Industries	$7,741,287
			Emerging New Industries	$4,202,236
			Prospective New Industries	$1,948,261
			Reserves	$1,109,435
$22,053,853			$22,053,853

Four Years of Operations – 1994/1995 to 1997/1998

REVENUE	$20.1m	$20.1m	$16.2m	$22.1m
Commonwealth appropriation	52%	52%	35%	49%
Industry research levies	18%	19%	26%	20%
Commonwealth matching dollars	17%	13%	20%	17%
Interest	6%	7%	6%	4%
Other income	7%	9%	13%	10%
EXPENDITURE	$19.7m	$19.7m	$21.4m	$20.9m
Research programs	92%	90%	91%	90%
Communications	1%	1%	1%	3%
Corporate	3%	4%	3%	3%
Administration	4%	5%	5%	4%
FULL-TIME RIRDC STAFF
	15	18	16	16
OPERATING STATISTICS
New projects initiated	198	218	278	250
R&D projects managed	613	481	502	764
Final reports received	87	116	166	262
Scholarship applications received	63	90	84	44
Scholarships awarded	1	5	2	8
Travel applications received	64	117	64	93
Travel grants awarded	33	74	45	57
R&D proposals received–preliminary	586	708	654	680
R&D proposals received–full	222	250	227	260

Last updated: 20 October 1998
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http://www.rirdc.gov.au/pub/anrep98/highlights.htm