This is a final research report from Hort Innovation’s historical archives. Please note that as these reports may date back as far as the 1990s, the content and recommendations within them may be superseded by more recent research.

What was it all about?

The project was focused on the development of business and leadership skills in Horticulture leaders. It was funded by Hort Innovation (which was then Horticulture Australia Limited) and was given the public working title:

“Horticulture – the Next Generation Program” by the Project Steering Committee to improve branding and recognition.

The Program commenced in 2012 with 50 Leaders and was funded again in 2013 and 2014. 20 Leaders participated in the 2013 Program and an additional 25 Leaders in 2014. This was 5 more participants than originally agreed and was funded by efficiency improvements within the Project Team.

The Project was developed around the need to ensure the long term viability of Australian horticulture, which was partially dependent upon the availability of quality leadership at both and industry wide and individual business levels.

Many of the industries represented by the then Horticulture Australia Limited had strategic plans that highlighted the need for enhanced and continued leadership development. However, some industries lacked the resources to develop and provide their own training programs, which raised the need for funding of an Across Horticulture Leadership Training Project.

The objectives of the project were to:

• Improve the ability of our leaders to lead and guide the Industry;
• Stimulate industry dialogue and encourage innovative thinking;
• Encourage the next generation of industry leaders to improve industry & business succession;
• Improve strategic thinking, planning and problem solving at an industry and business level;
• Provide a model for effective leadership development in other sectors.

In order to meet these objectives, Strategic Business Development, and project partners, Mindshop International, created a leadership program around a number of key elements:

• Face-to-face Training Workshops
• On-line Training Courses
• Executive Coaching Support
• Webinars on selected topics
• Website, Blog and Social Media platforms

Horticulture – the Next Generation continued to build in activity and industry engagement through an extension of the access period for online industry training and through increased social media and webinar activity.

From 2012 onwards the Program directly engaged with over 310 industry leaders through workshops and on-line training. Webinars were well supported and average 120 views per webinar session. Over 2014, social media engagement increased significantly with participation rates increasing across all platforms to 1371 users.