To help meet these ambitions, the FRDC is turning to new ways of doing things and new approaches to problem solving.

"Our philosophy as an organisation is that innovation must permeate the whole organisation. We should never stop being curious and optimistic and trying new ways of solving problems. Some of them won’t work and that’s ok, that’s all about a healthy relationship with risk,” said Matt.

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To that end, the FRDC is also exploring a range of different innovation models to try and work out what does and doesn’t work for fishing and aquaculture.

“When you look across agriculture, fisheries and forestry, it’s clear that many of the challenges we are trying to solve are similar, and none of us in isolation has all the answers. So our approach must prioritise new ways of collaborating and working with others,” said Matt.  grow^AG. is one of those new approaches.

For FRDC, grow^AG. is about widening the net to the broadest possible audience.

Matt added, “For the FRDC, grow^AG. is about strapping a megaphone on to work that we’ve done and the problems and opportunities that are yet to be solved.”

“So much of the value presented by a centralised platform like grow^AG. is the cross-disciplinary opportunity, where someone from an entirely different space discovers a solution from another context that they can apply in their circumstance.”

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Agricultural Innovation Australia (AIA) is another cross-RDC initiative in which the FRDC is engaged. Matt said AIA will tackle big industry issues and will use grow^AG. to build on existing research to attract global solution providers to Australia’s farming challenges.

While it’s entirely possible to explore the grow^AG. site by sector, the FRDC hopes people will be able to engage with the site from the perspective of ‘what’s the problem I’m trying to solve?’

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Fisheries bountiful opportunities for investors and solution providers   

There are 366 (and counting) FRDC research projects featured on grow^AG.. In addition, the FRDC is also seeking engagement from investors, solution providers and problem solvers with four commercial opportunities. These range across the gamut of FRDC’s business including opportunities related to reduction of plastics and waste, optimising worker safety, disease detection and management and improving aquatic animal safety:

• Electronic platforms to increase safety at sea in the Australian commercial fishing fleet;
• Minimising plastic in the western rock lobster industry;
• Practical technologies for Perfluoroalkyl (PFA) remediation in marine fish hatcheries;
• Validation and implementation of rapid test kits for detection of OsHV-1;

Please note the above opportunties are now closed.

The FRDC is now publishing its open calls for research and development project applications on grow^AG. .

For the FRDC, commercialisation is about solving clearly defined problems by bringing new knowledge, products or services to market for adoption through commercial channels. The FRDC is looking to engage with anyone around the globe who is interested in solving similar problems, whether they are someone who can throw light on a problem or bring a solution or energy to the table as an entrepreneur, inventor or investor.

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