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RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT & ADOPTION Th is se c t i o n brou g ht t o y o u i n as soci a t i o n wi t h
Sugar Research Australia
S
UGAR Research Australia (SRA) is an Industry-Owned Company that invests in and manages a portfolio of Research, Development and Adoption (RD&A) projects that drive productivity, profitability and sustainability for the Australian sugarcane industry. As the declared Industry Services Body for the Australian sugarcane industry under the Sugar Research and Development Services Act 2013 (Cth), SRA is responsible for the direct provision of RD&A activities as well as the ongoing management and investment of funds received from industry levy payers and government, for the benefit of the sugarcane industry and for the wider public good. The core responsibilities of SRA are to: O Deliver cost-effective research and development services to the Australian sugar industry to enhance its viability, competitiveness and sustainability; O Carry-out, coordinate and provide investment for R&D activities in relation to the Australian sugar industry; O Facilitate the dissemination, extension, adoption and commercialisation of results of R&D activities; and O Support and develop industry research capacity.
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SRA operates research farms, laboratories, and offices across the Australian sugarcane industry. The SRA research effort extends across the industry and occurs for all growers and millers. SRA had 164 (full-time equivalent) staff as at June 30, 2019, who operate across the business in a range of roles that support and drive RD&A for the Australian sugarcane industry. SRA strives to build an investor- centric and performance-driven culture, empower staff and equip them for success and optimise SRA’s organisational facilities, systems and processes to support delivery of the RD&A investment portfolio. This includes continual improvement in our safety culture, as demonstrated by a significant increase in SRA’s conformance rate following recent safety audits.
Performance framework SRA has developed a targeted approach to our operational objectives to ensure that the services we deliver to the industry can be measured and are of value. Alongside these objectives, SRA has developed a performance monitoring and evaluation program to measure and demonstrate our performance against key performance indicators in our Strategic Plan and Annual Operational Plan. The 2017/18–2021/22 Strategic Plan was developed with extensive investor and industry consultation. The plan is built upon the needs of our investors and key stakeholders and it has drawn on the lessons from our 2016 Independent Performance Review. Our Strategic Plan is underpinned by four goals with a focus on measures of success and outcomes. These goals are: O Drive profitability; O Improve sustainability; O Enhance capability; and, O Strengthen organisational excellence.
RD&A priorities The key deliverables that underpin SRA’s research agenda respond to the priority challenges and opportunities of the sugarcane industry and, more broadly, the priorities of the agricultural sector, government and the wider Australian public. More specifically, the KFAs and associated RD&A activities that SRA invest in respond to the issues raised during consultation with industry, government and researchers, as well as the principles, strategies and priorities set out in industry and government strategy documents. Drawn from Sugar Research Australia’s 2018–19 Annual Report. n
68 — AUSTRALIAN SUGARCANE ANNUAL 2019
