Skip to main content
GrowAG Logo
EVOKEAG2025_TheCommon-761-web.jpeg

Australian Research and Development Corporations

Research and Development Corporations (RDCs) are trusted partners in Australia’s rural R&D system and play a unique role at the intersection between industry, government and the research community. They enable government and primary producers to co-invest in research and development to drive innovation and benefit industry and regional communities. There is a total of 15 RDCs with 5 Commonwealth statutory bodies and 10 industry-owned companies. Each RDC functions to service the needs of a specific rural industry or sector such as red meat, horticulture, eggs.  An estimated AUD$825m is invested annually through RDCs. For every AUD$1 invested in agricultural R&D, an almost AUD$8 return is generated for farmers over 10 years.

How are RDCs funded?

RDCs are funded primarily by levies which are paid when Australian agricultural produce is bought, exported, grown, processed or sold. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s collect levies and distribute these to RDCs to fund research and development that will strength rural industries.  

The Australian government also matches expenditure on eligible R&D, up to 0.5% of the determined industry gross value of production.

All RDCs manage research and development services. However, some also undertake marketing activities which is funded by a marketing levy component.

Startups and RDCs

RDCs offer innovators a look-in to industry priorities and a connection to producers. They can also provide capacity building programs and funding opportunities that enable innovation to be scaled, adapted or trialled to address specific industry needs.  These priorities, programs, and funding opportunities and cycles vary amongst each RDC. It’s important to assess the use cases for your innovation and identify which industry it could be applied to. From here review the information regarding individual RDCs structure, priorities, funding and procurement related to the industry where your innovation is applicable.

SMEs, Corporates and RDCs

RDCs regularly partner with SMEs and corporate entities to facilitate research into key industry challenges. These partnerships are mutually beneficial to rural industries and the corporate entities as they often form part of Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies. Partnership opportunities are usually associated with the RDC funding opportunities or calls for research. Corporates can partner with an RDC by matching funding into research which will be undertaken by third party organisation or university to address the key challenge or priority for the industry.

An example of a corporate partnership is the Coles and Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) Collaborative Innovation Program. The co-funded program supported a shared industry vision for more sustainable and resilient red meat value chains by accelerating the adoption of on-farm innovations through collaborative investment and impact reporting. The program included engagement with producers and supply chain partners to identify opportunities for emissions reduction, animal welfare, and biodiversity outcomes.

International stakeholders and RDCs

Despite location, challenges within agriculture are shared across continents. Australian RDCs have a growing appetite to better understand what solutions and research exists overseas and share current solutions that would help address challenges faced by international agricultural industries. Opportunities to partner and work with Australia RDCs vary depending on the stakeholder group and RDC. It’s best to familiarise yourself with the strategic priorities of the RDC you are interested in partnering with.

RDCs

Read more about each RDC here on the Explore RDCs section.

Commonwealth

Industry-owned