The Dynamics of Discovery...the start of the innovation process. Or, industry might want applied research but that is not what it needs...

Countless hours are wasted on trying to determine whether the public should be supporting applied research or basic research. Far less time is spent on identifying the priorities to be researched, or the questions and challenges to be answered.  More time spent on the latter will enable the scarce public resources to be better targeted at activities that make a difference.


From Archimedes to Edison, attempts to improve quality of life have dictated a need for advances in science and technology. These advances are now widely recognised, if not fully understood as the key enablers of increasingly prosperous societies.

And despite this long history, the process of managing the expanding frontiers of new knowledge in a way that will benefit society is still a work in progress. 

Farm-gate and consumer food prices - a need for genuine analysis.

What is it that we want our agriculture to do? 

Australia agriculture continues to put food on the tables three times a day.  It continues to innovate and contribute to the nation's prosperity.  It continues to eke out efficiencies in the production system. Though much is to be lauded, much needs to change.   

Modern agriculture is grounded on the belief that the primary objective of the industry is to produce as much food and fibre as possible for the least cost. 

These twin goals have long shaped farming, and underpinned agricultural research.  But with evidence that food is wasted in developed countries (and in developing countries), that food security is a now accepted as a major global issue, and issues of environmental degradation and health problems such as obesity, we need to define what it is that we want contemporary agriculture to do. 

All business is a journey not a destination: Stop Planning and Start the Journey.

A business plan is a necessity for any business. It is the result of painstaking thought and analysis, translated into a strategy and action.

Many advisers will tell you, quite rightly, that simply having a plan is not the path to success. They will tell you that to execute your strategy you will need to be continually planning, and taking operational or tactical decisions as you are sure your objective.

I’d like to suggest a different way of looking at this.

The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to respond.

I don’t know the exact origins but for many years now I have often said to colleagues that we have two eyes, two ears and one mouth, and that is the proportion in which we should use them. The management literature abounds with entreaties for us to listen better, to develop listening skills, to be reactive listeners, and to listen first before speaking. But have we learnt the lesson.