Latest News & Updates

July 2010 News Update

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 10:06:00 +1000

As we enter the new 2010/2011 financial year, there is a lot of activity being undertaken in the rural and agricultural sector in Australia. For example: The Murray Darling Basin Authority is set to release its draft plan for the basin which will have implications for agricultural industries, communities and river health; and the productivity commission (http://www.pc.gov.au/projects/inquiry/rural-research/terms-of-reference) is undertaking a review of the Rural Development Corporation model of delivering R&D in Australia. Both of these events alone are very significant for the sector.

They underline the pressure on agricultural and environmental programs to perform and deliver. They continue the need for good evaluation frameworks and an ability to monitor and demonstrate impacts. Increasingly we are being asked to assist in training staff in evaluation and to assist in developing robust evaluation frameworks – as well as undertake evaluations.

Having just completed evaluations of the Drought Support Worker programs and a survey of EverGraze (read more on our Projects page) and working on a number of other programs, we are convinced about the need to plan and incorporate this critical element into everyday management and work plans. Feel free to contact us and discuss your program evaluation needs.

Evaluation Demand

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:00:00 +1100

There is strong demand for evaluation services at the moment – and Coutts J&R is happily involved in a full range of projects and opportunities across Australia - South Australia’s Eyre’s Peninsula; the Murray Darling Basin; the northern Australian Rivers and top our own back yard in the Condamine Catchment, Southern Queensland (some of these are now included in our projects section). There has also been some opportunity to branch out further into the Pacific Region – all interesting work! I was recently sent a link which highlighted ‘Program Evaluation’ as one of the 13 careers to watch for in the next decade!...One of the baker’s dozen of professions that promise income growth, work-life balance and social impact.

So maybe we are in the right place at the right time!

APEN Conference – Bussleton

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:18:00 +1100

Jeff attended the Australasian Pacific Extension Network (APEN) International Conference at Busselton, Western Australia. Having convened the original International Extension Conference at the Gold Coast in 1992, it was incredible seeing the numbers of people from around Australia (and 14 internationals!) who went to the far reaches of the country to talk ‘extension’ – around the theme of ‘shaping change in the community’.

The 1992 conference spawned the APEN organisation amidst fears that extension was dying – and calls for a different term to be used. But here, almost 2 decades later, extension remained a rallying cry for those facilitating change in agriculture, natural resources and health. Likewise it was clear that the need for evaluation of extension and other interventions is greater than ever.

Coutts J&R launches its specialist “Rural Survey Service”

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:33:00 +1000

Although we have been undertaking surveys since we commenced in 2001, they have mostly been done as part of an overall evaluation of a project and program. We have identified that many people who are undertaking such evaluations need to outsource the survey component. This is a role that we are stepping up to take!

There are many critical; steps in the survey process: Design of the questionnaire; Choosing the best sampling strategy; Undertaking the surveys – whether phone, web or mail; Survey analysis – qualitative and quantitative; and Reporting – including pulling out key messages and recommendations.

Our services will cover any or all of these critical steps in the survey process.

To discuss your needs – contact Jeff Coutts!

Survey Workshop goes West!

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:10:00 +1000

In August, the survey workshop is going to be run in Perth for staff from the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia. Although this workshop is not open to other participants, it does show that it is portable and applicable around the country. We have revamped it a little based on our experience in Toowoomba and the feedback from participants and believe that it is even better. If you have a group that could benefit from learning how to better design, run and report on surveys, just let us know!

Survey Workshop

Wed, 27 May 2009 05:25:00 +1000

The survey workshop we ran with Kerry Bell from Bellmetrics in Toowoomba has now been and gone! The 15 participants (across Health; State government; agriculture and post-graduate students) really got into it and shared their experience as well as posing insightful questions. As one participant put it…”What I liked most was actively involving participants so that they integrate the skills from workshop”. Our aim had been what one participant described on the feedback form...”Improved understanding of framework/structure, analysis of data (quantitative and qualitative) - and overall confidence of constructing a survey in future”.

There has been some interest expressed in having us run the workshop elsewhere in Australia and we are considering our options – If you have any ideas or see a need somewhere, please let us know!

Canberra presentation

Wed, 27 May 2009 05:21:00 +1000

Jeff went to Canberra recently to deliver the final report on "Evaluating the Defeating the Weed Menace R&D Program" at Land and Water Australia and DAFF. Despite the shock of the closure of LWA, a number of staff attended the presentation and became involved in a very useful discussion. The evaluation concluded that the program had performed very highly against its ‘objectives, scientific outcomes and performance indicators' and with a strong positive feedback from researchers about the excellent management of the program.

Survey Design, Analysis & Reporting Workshop

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:27:00 +1100

At last after months of planning and preparation, we have combined with Kerry Bell of Bellmetrics to run a 2 day workshop on survey design, analysis and reporting! The workshop will be run in Toowoomba on the 19th and 20th of May 2009. Kerry is an experienced biometrician and has worked with Jeff Coutts over the years in evaluation.

Many evaluation projects have demanded their combined skills in designing surveys to satisfy information needs, planning the sampling process and analysing the results for reporting. Together they have run the 'Evaluation of Programs and Projects' Masters' course at University of Queensland Gatton of which surveys are a component.

Over the years they have seen a high level of need and demand for specific practical training in surveys - their design, sampling, analysis and reporting. This is important not only for those doing surveys - but for those who commission surveys. Both are committed to hands on 'adult learning' approaches so that people walk away with skills and confidence to use their learning. This is a course not to be missed - hope you can make it!

Download the flier

Incentive study report now available

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:15:00 +1100

Hot off the press is the report of the Review and Evaluation of the use of incentives/Market Based Instruments for the Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM Body. Coutts J&R undertook this review on BDT's behalf towards the end of 2008. It was a terrific opportunity to get up close and personal to this relatively new mechanism for change - co-funding of on-ground works on rural properties where they provide a public environmental benefit!

During the review we also sought other reports and reviews on the use of incentives/MBI from around Australia and we interviewed a number of informed persons in other areas to learn from their experience. The review also developed a decision-table on the application of incentives/MBIs at different stages of the process. This is not the last word on the use of incentives in encouraging good natural resource mangement outcomes on landholdings, but hopefully it is a useful contribution to the learning process. You can find the report and its components on http://www.bdtnrm.org.au/projects/lsaincentives.html

Welcome to the new Coutts J&R Website

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:40:00 +1100

Coutts J&R is happy to announce that we have revamped and updated our website (have a look around!). After almost 8 years, it was time for a refresh and to clarify our business and what we can do for you. This new site includes a blog that we will use to update you on our thinking and experiences over time - so we hope you check in occasionaly for the latest thoughts!