The sub-program was created to overcome some significant gaps in information availability in the fresh produce supply chain, chiefly in respect of technical insights and the marketplace for fresh vegetables.

The objectives of the Knowledge Management sub-program of the Vegetable Industry Development sub-program are to:

1. Create a sustainable platform to facilitate the communication & dissemination of information regarding all vegetable industry development activities

2. Develop a central access point – through an upgraded industry website - for tailored information packages that best meet the needs of growers and other stakeholders

3. Enable full access for growers, researchers and other relevant parties to the outcomes of levy-funded R&D results, in a form growers and others can use

4. Create a viable two-way feedback & update process that benefits all sub-programs of the VIDP

Work areas

The first year of the sub-program required a significant amount of start-up work to develop platforms for ongoing use, namely an R&D Insights database and a new industry website.  This involved a significant development time and to get the features to a stage where they were functional for growers and other users.

There are four principal areas of work in this project:

• Developing and maintaining a Knowledge Management Matrix - A plan for how information would be better packaged to reach target audiences in the most useful form
• Overhauling the industry website - Developing and ensuring ongoing enhancement of a new website platform to suit information needs of growers and the requirements of Ausveg as the peak industry body
• R&D outcomes - Ensuring growers and other relevant parties could get full access to R&D outcomes in practical forms, which has included the development of an online search engine of technical insights
• Ensure industry information quality and content continues to benefit from feedback