The aim of the Industry Development Portfolio within HAL is to inform and empower those in horticulture to make better business decisions.

To achieve this aim, HAL has developed a strategic approach to industry development.  Individual industries assess their current and future industry development needs and use the five strategies for capacity building as developed by the Cooperative Venture for Capacity Building.

Five Underlying Industry Development Strategies

Industry Development is a term widely used within horticulture and its meaning is the same as ‘Capacity Building’, a commonly used term in the rural sector.  The Cooperative Venture for Capacity Building (CVCB), managed by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), defines capacity building in the following way:

Capacity building processes are designed to help people in rural Australia understand and manage their changing circumstances thereby improving stocks of human, social, financial and natural capital.
    
Research from the CVCB has identified the following five extension models/strategies for capacity building and ‘best practice’ guidelines have been developed for each:

• Facilitation – group or network participants increase their own capacity in seeking their own education and training needs.
• Technology adoption – individuals work together to develop specific technologies, management practices or decision support systems, often involves local trials and/or demonstrations.
• Training – specifically designed training programs and workshops are delivered to targeted groups to increase understanding or skills in defined areas.
• Information – provision of a broad range of information from a central location, such as websites, conferences and newsletters.
• Consultant – where a mentor or consultant works over time with an individual or group to improve their managerial, technological, social or environmental situation.

Industry Development Needs Assessment

An independent review of the investment in Industry Development was completed in March 2006. The review recommended that industries use a needs based approach for allocating and determining industry development initiatives.
 
The ultimate aim of the needs based approach is to ensure industries assess and tailor the best mix of options for industry members to access skills, knowledge and tools that empower and enable informed business decisions making for the benefit of growers and the industry.

To provide assistance and rigor to the process of assessing industry development needs, HAL developed a needs assessment process, guidelines and tools.

The 9 step industry development needs assessment process is:

• Establish Management and Oversight Group
• Introduction and Start-up
• Define Key Industry Characteristics
• Review Industry Development Strategy Options
• What Industry Development are we doing now?
• Confirm New List of Industry Development Needs
• Prioritise and Funding
• Determine Delivery Options
• Implementation Plan

Current Industry Development Activity

Typically the industry development portfolio has over 350 active projects and proposals with a total Life of Project (LOP) value of more than $40 million. Funded via levy and/or voluntary contributions, the types of projects include:

• Industry Development Officers or Managers (IDOs & IDMs)
• Study tours, within Australia and overseas
• Conferences, forums and seminars
• Training programs, workshops and/or field days
• Scholarships and leadership development programs
• Communication programs, newsletters, magazines, websites, DVDs.