Enrolling advisers in governing privatised agricultural extension in Australia: challenges and opportunities for the research, development and extension system

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Current developments in the Australian agricultural research, development and extension (RD&E) system exemplify the complex governance challenges arising from the international privatisation of agricultural extension. Presenting early challenges emerging from a multi-stakeholder project aimed at stimulating the role of the private advisory sector in the RD&E system, this paper contributes to understanding change dynamics in the RD&E system.

Methodology: The project applies action research to assist reframing current RD&E governance arrangements towards an enhanced, pluralistic and collaborative system. This paper uses multi-level transition theory (MLP) to explore the dynamics of change by describing the ‘regime’ of the current Australian RD&E system, wherein the project is an emergent ‘niche-in-the- making’.

Findings: The regime-based challenges arising from the unfolding Australian project collaboration allow critical assessment of the first moves of niche formation initiated by the project. Initial findings suggest a persisting instrumentalist conceptualisation of the private sector’s role in the RD&E system solely as extension providers. This is in tension with the project vision of supporting new roles for private sector advisers as key actors in the governance of co-innovation processes.

Practical implications: In describing these challenges and considering how the project’s action research can facilitate participant responses, we contribute to understanding how niche formation can be supported in Australia and internationally.

Theoretical implications: The paper contributes to a research agenda related to the governance of agricultural advisory services via an analysis of social practice elements that constitute internal niche processes.

Originality: Enabling critical analysis of the incumbent regime of the current RD&E system, this framework provides insights into how niche responses aimed at the RD&E system change can be supported.

KEYWORDS:

• Privatised agricultural extension
• governance
• innovation systems
• co-innovation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr Jana-Axinja Paschen is a Research Fellow with the Rural Innovation Research Group at the University of Melbourne. She holds a Ph.D. in Geography and works in the fields of Landscape and Rural Sociology. Her research collaborations with government and industry partners include work in climate change adaptation, disaster risk and natural resource management policy. Jana-Axinja is an experienced action researcher and leads the development and implementation of the engagement trials conducted as part of the project ‘Stimulating private sector extension to increase returns from rural R&D’.

Ms Nicole Tania Reichelt is an experienced social researcher using the theories and methods from sociology to investigate social, rural and environmental issues. Nicole is currently working as a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne (Rural Innovation and Research Group) with 8 years of experience working as an academic researcher in community-based natural resource management, climate change adaptation on dairy farms, rural land-use transitions in relation to biodiversity values and social learning in collaborative research projects. Previous employment experiences include working in the sectors of higher education, public service and not-for-profit.

Dr Barbara King is a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne and specialises in social research that investigates opportunities and constraints for change and innovation in rural communities and networks. She had significant experience in horticulture extension prior to an academic career in research that began with a Ph.D. in 2007. Over recent years she has presented findings on a range of rural social networks at conferences and industry forums, provided Milestone reports for industry and journal papers for academic and practitioner audiences.

Dr Margaret Ayre is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences and a Senior Research Fellow with the Rural Innovation Research Group at the University of Melbourne. She holds a Batchelor of Forest Science and doctorate (History and Philosophy of Science) from The University of Melbourne. She has worked as a land/water management planner; lecturer with the Bachelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education; as a Senior Policy Officer on the development of national oceans policy and as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with CSIRO in collaborative water planning. She works on transdisciplinary projects investigating responses to climate variability, effective catchment management and agricultural and regional development. An applied social scientist, her research interests are in the production of scientific knowledge and the relationship between science, technology and society in natural resource management policy and practice, agricultural development and Indigenous community-based land and sea management.

A/Prof Dr Ruth Nettle leads the Rural Innovation Research Group (RIRG) at the University of Melbourne. Ruth's research interests include rural workforce development (human transitions in farming and the role of collaborative action in supported change); the role of extension in rural change (learning systems, adaptation); multidisciplinary research, development and extension (the role of RD&E in rural innovation) and farming systems change (decision-making, technology and change). Ruth provides input into the strategic issues facing rural industries in Australia through strategic reviews on human and social capacity, the role of development in the future of RD&E and the role of extension.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources as part of its Rural R&D for Profit programme [grant number C100001662].