Grower Group Networks Working Together with Researchers

In Western Australia, grower-led groups are actively forming partnerships with other grower groups, researchers and private industry. As the farming system increases in complexity, existing partnerships may not be adequate and a new approach is needed. An organisational form that is designed to work in such complexity is the ‘network’. Grower group networks are able to create an environment where shared understanding and/or collective action is used to achieve outcomes where there are no readily available solutions. In the last four years, two projects – the Grower Group Alliance and the Local Farmer Group Network – were established to support grower groups in a network to provide their members with access to the latest information and research. The organisation of grower groups into networks has made them more accessible and relevant to researchers. In this paper, a description of the role grower groups and grower group networks can play in research projects is outlined, illustrated by case studies of successful partnerships. The most successful projects occur when grower groups and research providers develop and implement a new project together. Grower group networks are also a very effective means of delivering research outcomes as they can provide researchers with opportunities for impact well beyond partnerships with one or two grower groups. Specially designed forums are just one new event which aim to maximise the interactions between grower groups, researchers and their industry partners. The paper concludes with a description of the future challenges for grower group networks.