Over several years, Wine Australia has worked to improve the delivery of information and the application of critical research innovations to grape and wine businesses. However, feedback from the sector has brought to light the need for further changes to achieve greater impact and value back to industry.
What is extension and adoption?
Put simply, extension is the delivery of key information developed through research while adoption is the development of tools, programs and resources that enable research to be applied in vineyards, wineries and businesses. Both areas are designed to support the changing of practices that will benefit producers.
Extension and adoption isn’t research for new solutions. It is delivering information and supporting the use of the practices that have already been developed through previous research.
Contemporary extension has shifted from focusing largely on the technical content alone to include greater understanding of people, decision-making processes, impact of change, and the ways that different people learn. Adoption is recognised as a ‘process’ of learning and change rather than a ‘point in time event’ or one-off binary decision. This is particularly important for complex farming systems where change is dependent on production cycles and impact is realised over a longer term.
So, what is changing?
To address the sector's call for change, Wine Australia is introducing a nationally coordinated approach to extension and adoption. This means that extension and adoption activities funded by Wine Australia will be centrally managed, ensuring campaigns and programs are co-designed with a focus on outcomes, consistent measurement of impacts, and collaborative approaches addressing the diverse needs of producers.
It will likely also lead to a bigger pool of companies that deliver these activities. Going forward, national-targeted campaigns and programs on topics informed by the sector’s priorities will be contracted through a competitive procurement process.
How does this impact current services?
This change means that extension and adoption activities will have greater alignment with priorities as identified by the sector and will be continuously monitored and adjusted for greatest impact.
It also means that some of the activities currently delivered through the current extension providers including the AWRI and other partners will fall under this new process. However, this does not exclude the AWRI and other existing partners from applying to deliver these new targeted campaigns.
The long-standing unique and highly regarded resources at the AWRI such as the Helpdesk, Library and DogBook will continue to receive funding from Wine Australia through a long-term service agreement, safeguarding them from potential funding adjustments due to reduced vintage and levies.
Wine Australia is collaborating with its partners on the implementation of this new model. The changes will be in effect at the beginning of the new financial year.