Frontiers Advisory Network

Supporting investment decision-making

Purpose

Hort Innovation recognises the importance of adopting a transparent, disciplined, and informed approach to stakeholder engagement and Frontiers co-investment decision-making. This approach supports Hort Innovation to ensure that resources are applied prudently, efficiently and with impact for growers and the Australian community.

This advisory network supports Hort Innovation to ensure that Frontiers initiatives advance the company’s ambition to foster a prosperous, sustainable Australian horticulture sector built on innovation.

It aligns with stakeholder engagement principles detailed in the Hort Innovations stakeholder engagement and consultation framework to ensure a meaningful, transparent, and productive engagement between Hort Innovation and its stakeholders.

Defining our advisory network

Hort Innovation’s Frontiers investments rely on a structured advisory model that draws on a network of expert contributors. These advisors play key roles across several dimensions, providing inputs essential to meeting the company’s transformative goals for Australian horticulture through innovation. Advisor contributions span three primary categories:

Representation: Advisors include representatives from well-established advisory channels such as Peak Industry Bodies (PIBs), the grower network, key consultants and industry specialists – delivering diversity of voice and a comprehensive input stream.
Expertise: Advisors bring technical and market expertise into investment advice, providing insights in a way that is both timely and actionable. This enables the identification and delivery of investments with the greatest potential impact.
Networks: Advisors may also act as connectors within the supply chain, linking Hort Innovation to communities of evidence, co-investors, commercial partners, and adoption partners. These connections are crucial for expanding the potential impact and uptake of innovation.

In all instances, Hort Innovation will draw upon a diverse group of advisors, ensuring a balance of skills, backgrounds, experiences, and knowledge, with international experts engaged as required.

Frontiers Investment Pathways: Advisory approach

The Frontiers Advisory Network spans multiple investment pathways, each aligned with the Hort Innovation 2024-2026 Strategy.

The section below outlines how advisors may participate in investment decision-making processes for each of the Frontiers investment pathways.

Innovation Partnerships

Strategic intent and alignment: Advisors provide guidance on aligning potential investments with the strategic objectives against the five Frontiers themes. This phase includes discovery work, concept development, and validation to ensure that investments are strategically relevant and impactful.
Strategic sourcing: Hort Innovation is committed to selection processes that have a high degree of impartiality and rigour and to accountable decision-making aligned with the company’s delegations of authority. During the selection of delivery partners, advisors contribute to evaluating potential partners through a due diligence process. Their insights are critical for identifying partners capable of executing the investment with excellence.
Project delivery: Hort Innovation is committed to quality project management, including effective management of opportunity and risks, to support partners to deliver as contracted. Advisors may be called upon to provide support throughout the partnership’s contractual term. This may involve assisting with mid-term reviews, guiding continuous improvement initiatives or sitting on program steering committees.
Project evaluation: Hort Innovation is committed to monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to identify improvement opportunities and to communicate the impacts and benefits of investments to stakeholders. To support this, Hort Innovation is developing bespoke M&E material which will be embedded in investment planning and on-going performance management across Frontiers investments.

Hort Innovation Venture Fund

The Hort Innovation Venture Fund, managed by Artesian Venture Partners, focuses on investing in Agrifood Tech start-ups with high growth potential.

While the fund sources opportunities globally, the emphasis is on Australian start-ups that can achieve growth and drive impact through local adoption.

Investment opportunities arise from several channels, including:

Other Frontiers investment pathways: These include Frontiers programs such as the Australian-Grown Innovation initiative.
Direct outreach: Both Artesian and Hort Innovation, via its networks, reach out directly to promising start-ups to generate a continuous pipeline of opportunity.
Network referrals: Opportunities also come through Artesian Venture Partners extensive network, including Investor and other Fund investors’ referrals.

Advisors will provide vital input on prospective investment opportunities, with a focus on supporting Hort Innovation’s due diligence process. They may also play a role in connecting start-ups with growers for further industry intelligence, trial establishment, or business development opportunities.

Australian-Grown Innovation

Advisors may be called upon to support the program as domain experts, mentors, or steering committee participants. Australian-Grown Innovation participants will be connected with members of the advisory network as and when required to maximise their market discovery efforts.

Engagement guidelines

Engagement scope and advisor role

Grower advisors contribute their expertise in an individual capacity, independent of any organisational affiliations. Advisors bring a broad range of perspectives, strengthening the insights available to Hort Innovation to inform investment decision-making. Advisors from industry bodies or commercial enterprises will bring advice relevant and specific to their domain or area of representation.

Advisors with skills or knowledge in a specialised field/s will be placed on the advisory register. This register allows Hort Innovation to connect with a diverse pool of expertise as needed, though it retains the flexibility to invite individuals outside the register when specific skills or experiences are required.

Guidelines for selection and engagement

Open process

Initiatives to recruit advisors will be shared publicly. People interested in being part of the advisory network can also reach out to FrontiersTeam@horticulture.com.au to submit an expression of interest.

Capability and experience-based selection

Every effort will be made to ensure that the selection of an advisor/s for a particular situation reflects only capability and experience, and never personal choices or preferences.

Probity management

Good governance practices will be followed to maintain the integrity of the advisory process, including management of potential or actual conflicts of interest and confidentiality and management of IP as per Hort Innovation’s policies.

Transparency

Advisors selected for consultation will be documented as part of the Advice Brief attached to new investments.

Confidentiality, conflicts of interest and intellectual property

In certain instances – particularly during sensitive engagements, such as the strategic sourcing of Innovation Partnerships -advisors will be required to formally acknowledge Hort Innovation’s Policies, which include provisions to manage conflicts of interest and ensure objectivity in advisory input. Advisors are expected to maintain confidentiality regarding any proprietary information or data shared by Hort Innovation. Any insights, reports, or recommendations provided by advisors will remain the intellectual property of Hort Innovation, unless otherwise specified.

Contact

Visit the Frontiers website or email frontiers@horticulture.com.au.