On the Fast Track

Ruth is back on deck

2007-11-21T15:39:00.000+11:00

Welcome back to Ruth Nettle!After being a full-time mum for a few months, she is now getting back into the swing of things at the office and is looking forward to Sydney next month and to hearing about how projects have gone. The workshop promises to be excellent, with a number of mentors being so committed they have decided to fund their own attendance.Nearly 70 people have been involved in On

Jenny O'Sullivan collects some awards

2007-10-26T11:07:00.000+10:00

Our Mentor developer extraordinaire Jenny has been awarded the $10,000 Hugh Mackay award from the Victorian DPI for her work establishing the NRM-based beef-raising system called Enviromeat. The Hugh McKay Future Farming Award is presented to a Victorian primary producer, rural resident and/or team, that developed an innovative solution to an environmental, social and/or economic problem for

Congratulations Ruth

2007-09-11T13:18:00.000+10:00

Just to prove that Ruth Nettle did have a valid reason for taking time off, here is a photo of Samuel, born in July. His sisters Lauren and Chloe are very happy with mum and dad's efforts!

Final workshop registration

2007-09-11T13:12:00.001+10:00

If you are having trouble downloading the registration form for the final workshop in Sydney in December, try downloading it from here. PDF format Word format

New reports on the website

2007-08-13T17:02:00.000+10:00

If you are looking for some up-to-date references on capacity building then check out the reports section of the CVCB website. We've just added a whole bunch of new reports dealing with topics as varied as dealing with lifestyle farmers, using computer-based technologies to make on-farm decisions, evaluating empowerment, and more.Don't forget your mid project reports. And if you can't find the

Mid project reports

2007-08-10T12:32:00.000+10:00

Hi EveryoneThings have been a bit quiet on the BLOG front for a while - we've all been pretty busy with our heads down and tails up.I've just sent out an email to everyone asking them to complete their mid project update. This shouldn't take too long to do and is an important check to progress you're making in your On the Fast Track project. If you have any questions, John McKenzie will be able

Sugar industry sets up new email group

2007-06-27T07:19:00.000+10:00

A new email group in the sugar industry is an exciting development says Cath McGowan.Hello everyone,One of the aspects that I am enjoying about this project is the opportunity to network and learn about new developments in agriculture. It's proving to be exciting, interesting and rich in learning.Last week I was part of a workshop with Dr Emma Jakku who is working on a sugar industry project.

Is capacity building really needed?

2007-06-21T07:23:00.000+10:00

John McKenzie queries attitudes to capacity building. Have you come across similar negative perceptions?I have come across a number of people in senior positions in science based organisations (including some of the RDCs) who express the view that capacity building is not needed, is just a set of jargon words and we should just get on and do our research, add a bit of marketing and communication

Commenting on the BLOG

2007-06-19T11:34:00.000+10:00

Heelllooo. Is there anyone out there? As you all know one of the reasons we decided to trial this BLOG with the project was to evaluate the usefulness of the technology. I know some of you have looked at the BLOG but you seem to be a bit shy about contributing. This could be for a variety of reasons, and one comment has pointed out that one of these might be time. We are all so busy these

About giving up too soon, and seeking advice wherever you can

2007-05-30T16:57:00.000+10:00

Sherry Kaurila, a participant at the Brisbane workshop, has had some more thoughts about the workshop process and what she has learnt. At first pass, the purpose/rationale/timeframe of the CVCB Fast Track Workshop at Bardon Centre, Brisbane was ambitious, to say the least. Several rural industry leaders/innovators were brought together with experienced agricultural/ rural industries

2007-05-15T11:32:00.000+10:00

One participant's reflection from the Brisbane workshop We asked participants at the Brisbane workshop whether anyone would be prepared to write some reflective pieces during the project as a way of tracking how they are going and what they have learnt, and to give people not involved some sense of the project from someone who is doing the hard yards. Sherry Kaurila, a councillor from

2007-05-07T17:34:00.000+10:00

Brisbane workshop evaluation – a good foundationA key element of any learning or extension activity is evaluation. The On the Fast Track workshop series is no different and has engaged Stephen Kelly to put the process under the microscope. Participants have been asked to evaluate each workshop session using a “cheque book”. Stephen uses

2007-04-29T13:46:00.000+10:00

Brisbane workshop on the right trackThe first workshop at Brisbane has come and gone and, much to the project team's relief, the feedback from participants about the mentoring process and the usefulness of the workshop has been positive.The workshop team also received lots of honest feedback about the workshop delivery that they have taken on board to make the next workshop even better. The

Welcome to On the Fast Track

2007-03-20T16:03:00.000+11:00

There is a lot of information around at the moment about BLOGS (some of you might even have your own) so we decided to develop one. We will be using it to keep you up to date with the project, and we will be evaluating how effective it is as a communication tool. But it's not all one way. The good thing about a BLOG is that you can contribute too.Ask questions, share information about capacity