What is Future Focus?

Future Focus is the Australian horticulture industry strategic plan. It will position the entire horticulture industry to proactively address future challenges and give the industry a strategic path for future growth.

Future Focus will direct the industry’s attention to opportunities that will increase profitability, whilst concentrating on building whole of industry approaches to aid commodity specific plans.

One of Future Focus’ aims is to balance a long term strategy with immediate industry concerns. Another is to deliver tangible outcomes and advice to the industry, including insight into what should be done, when, why and how.

The benefits of Future Focus

The benefits of Future Focus include:

• Developing whole of industry approaches to major strategic priorities.
  
• Generating a mechanism to allocate the industry’s strategic efforts into the highest pay-off areas.
  
• Providing additional insight into the key drivers of competitiveness and profitability for horticulture.
  
• Creating a better performing industry than would otherwise be the case.

How Future Focus will work

The Centre for International Economics (CIE) has been engaged to support the Leadership Group in delivering a strategic plan that delivers tangible results for the industry. Dr Andrew Stoeckel, a recognised leader in providing strategic advice to industry will lead the CIE’s project team.

CIE will conduct the research and analysis that will be used to formulate the Future Focus plan. This will include collecting, collating and analysing data and conducting industry focus groups.

A three stage approach will be used to compile the Future Focus plan.

The first stage involves the development of a quantitative framework, the first of its kind for Australian horticulture. It will identify the ‘business as usual’ outlook for the industry. From this, the drivers affecting horticulture’s opportunities and challenges will be identified.

Once these issues have been recognised, the second stage of Future Focus will commence. This will involve conducting industry focus groups to develop options on how to address these issues.

The third and final stage of Future Focus will involve implementing and communicating the plan to industry, which will culminate at an industry summit in May 2009.

To download a complete copy of the proposed activities and time frames Click Here.

Industry Participation

Given that Future Focus is a plan for the horticulture industry, the process will be driven by the industry’s own vision for its future.

Future Focus will be a collaborative plan that works for the industry by the industry.

Industry representatives will have opportunities through the 18 month process to participate in focus groups and ask questions through the ‘Questions and Answers’ tool on this website.