This project used a series of communication processes to structure an engagement strategy between CRDC and Crop Consultants Australia or CCA and the wider cotton industry R&D organisations. The objectives were to facilitate the delivery of cotton industry funded R&D results to growers via crop consultant members of the CCA as a key information conduit – and to create a strategic engagement process that would last 3-5 years through a process sustained by a robust business model where CCA could ultimately be regarded as an ‘extension agency of the cotton industry’.

This process was to be complemented by a wider agribusiness engagement strategy to secure similar support of the wider agribusiness sectors operating in the cotton industry. This strategy is proposed for development during 2010/11.

The project resulted in a roundtable meeting on 21 May 2010 between CRDC, Cotton Catchments CRC and Cotton Australia, as well as CCA, to agree on a series of tasks and actions that had been developed during the course of the project. These are proposed to be implemented during 2010/11 to commence delivery of R&D results to growers via CCA.

The elements of this new CCA business model include – a web portal allowing access to research results; re-development of the current 2x Annual CCA Forums to increase their effectiveness and responsiveness to industry issues; ensuring interim R&D results are available; trialling new methods of consultant interaction / communication; development of an Annual Research Review to build on the Annual Forums; the CCA Annual Survey; an Annual Cotton Meetings Calendar; structuring of greater collaboration between GRDC and CRDC; input / feedback on R&D priorities / projects; input / feedback at the development stage of R&D projects; supporting field trials and accessing the results; benchmarking / evaluation to support understanding the effectiveness of the projects and supporting implementation of myBMP.

The project resulted in a series of recommendations to maintain the momentum – that

Commissioned Projects are developed; that PRPs are defined for the remaining functions; that key personnel are defined to maintain the role of the project leader (who has acted as an outsider looking in with a singular role to meet the project objectives and be accountable for doing so through strong robust communication); that there is a strong need to explore the potential for engagement of GRDC through, and in collaboration with, the Northern Grower Alliance to structure collaboration between cotton and grains initiatives; that is critical to recognise that should the cotton R&D sector not elect to continue the initiatives created during this project – or CCA not elect to continue – then each sector would lose considerable credibility with the other (noting that CCA has some 140 current members and a potential pool of 300 members that could become cotton industry R&D outcome deliverers or advocates direct to cotton growers); that it is imperative for the engagement that has commenced between CRDC and CCA to continue in a timely and organised manner and that the wider agribusiness engagement strategy must be implemented through.