HAL commissioned this study to assess the return on investment from the vegetable R&D expenditure over the last ten years to 2007-08. In so doing, the research should demonstrate the return to growers and other stakeholders from the investment of Vegetable Levy and public funds and meet the requirement for increased scrutiny of RDC managed R&D expenditure.

The accurate quantification of the benefits from R&D expenditure is complex. Considerable debate surrounds the specific benefits directly attributable to R&D expenditure, benefits which would have been likely to occur without the R&D and the length of time over which benefits can be claimed.

The Productivity Commission (2007) highlighted Government concerns about the lack of evidence supporting a positive return on R&D investment across all RDCs. The report also questioned the alignment between the division of public funding of R&D (explicit and implicit) and the distribution of benefits.

In May 2007, the Council of Rural Research and Development Corporation Chairs (CRRDCC) produced guidelines to assist the review process for RDCs in response to the Productivity Commission report (2007). The guidelines include sections on appropriate sampling methods, reporting requirements and cost-benefit methodology. Land and Water Australia (LWA) has also produced a methodology for evaluating the return on investment for natural resource management R&D. These guidelines are to be used to enable all RDCs to assess the return on investment from R&D expenditure.

This project has been funded by Hort Innovation, using the research and development levies listed below and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.

• Vegetable Fund