Evaluating and improving adoptability of new farming practices:

The adoptability tool (ADOPT)

• What the project is about

• Who is involved in the project

• What has been achieved

• How the project is being delivered– The Conceptual Framework– The Tool– Testing & Validation

Guide to this Presentation

What is the Adoptability Project about?

• Making adoptability knowledge and considerations readily available, understandable and applicable for R, D & E managers and practitioners.

• Producing a model-based tool and process to predict likely rate and level of adoption for specific practices and inform R,D & E strategies.

• Collaborating with projects to assist with development of adoptable technology packages

ResearchersFTE

Geoff Kuehne (CSIRO) 0.95

Rick Llewellyn (CSIRO) 0.20

Perry Dolling (DAFWA) 0.10

David Pannell (UWA) 0.05

Roger Wilkinson (VicDPI) 0.05

Allan Curtis (CSU) 0.05

Diana Federenko (DAFWA) 0.10

Mike Ewing (FFI CRC) -

Who is involved in the Adoptability Project?

Where are we up to?• Started April 2009• Concept version produced and tested with potential end-users (2009-10)• Version 2 produced (June 2010)• Use of version 2 in CRC projects (2010)• Concept tested as part of the GRDC Grain & Graze 2 program

development• Used by GRDC project coordinators in 5 regions (agronomists,

consultants, farmer groups)• Post-use evaluation with project coordinators and funders (2 GRDC

program managers) • Validated version of tool due mid 2011

What are the goals for ADOPT?

It is designed to:

• PREDICT the Time to Peak Adoption & Peak Level of Adoption

• INFORM users about influences on adoption and diffusion

• ENGAGE users in thinking about adoption and diffusion when designing projects

Influences on Adoption conceptualised as Quadrants

Relative Advantage for the Population

Population-specific influences on the ability to learn about the Innovation

Learnability Characteristics of the Innovation

Relative Advantage of the Innovation

Conceptual Framework of Adoption and Diffusion Influences

Relative Advantage for the Population

Population-specific influences on the ability to learn about the Innovation

Learnability Characteristics of the Innovation

Relative Advantage of the Innovation

B.Group involvement

A. Advisory support

C. Relevant existing skills and knowledge

a.Networks

b. Farmers networks & skills

d. Learning of Relative Advantage

X. Time to Peak Adoption

c. Trialability of Innovation

L. Innovation complexity

K. Trialing ease

M. Observability

D. Innovation awareness

f. Relative Advantage

Y. Peak Adoption Level

N. Relative upfront cost of innovation

O. Reversibility of innovation

G. Risk orientation

H. Enterprise scale

I. Family succession & management horizon

E. Profit orientation

J. Short-term constraints

F. Environmental orientation

P. Time for profit benefits to be realised

R. Time for environmental benefits to be realised

S. Environment

U. Ease & convenience

T. Risk

Q. Profite. Investment cost

Data entry page (21 questions)

Response choices provided for each question

Outputs are: Time to Peak Adoption /

Peak Adoption Level

Evaluation of developmental version of the tool

• Conducted with Grain & Graze 2 projects in 6 regions

• Used by GRDC project coordinators in 5 regions (agronomists, consultants, farmer groups, State agency)

• Post-use evaluation with 2 GRDC program managers

Feedback from Users (1)• Its greatest value is its ease of use. It’s quick and potentially very powerful.

• The tool has potential for anyone involved in practice change projects. It was worth doing as it was easy to populate and quick to do.

• Just responding to the questions made you think, especially about the audience, the social factors and the risk aspects. It made you consider a broad range of parameters – the constraints and leverages.

• I reckon this tool has great potential to improve our extension effort. If we can make show which attributes are positive for change and which are holding us back, we should be able to actively address both of them.

• It could be used to evaluate projects to invest in – or it could be used with advisors, farming systems groups, NRM groups, and individual farmers to understand the process.

• The rate of adoption calculated was often really slow – depressing! Even fast was 5 to 10 years. It shows good reasoning why it would be slow....

• Add some explanation as to why the question is being asked- the theory or science - and a guide to credible ranges & examples.

• There would be some valuable learning to be gained if people could appreciate the reasoning behind the question, based on extension theory.

• Reconsider the emphasis on risk, given this has so many dimensions.

• The useful bit was that it made you think why, especially when the results were slower than we anticipated. This did prompt us to go back and question things.

• It has great potential to be used as a learning tool for extension, both public and private - It could be used as a training opportunity.

Feedback from Users (2)

• ADOPT needs further refinement, justifying & validating.

• Further use with industry groups e.g. MLA, RIRDC, ongoing with GRDC, grower groups & CMA’s

• Production of a guiding text and process

• Exploration of potential for extent of use by adopters to be included

• Development of tool completed & distribution version released

• PREDICTENGAGE INFORMDELIVER & INTEGRATE still to come

• Further integration with industry/population databases & RDC tools.

Still to come:

For more information on the adoptability tool contact: Dr. Geoff Kuehne   geoff.kuehne@csiro.au or Dr. Rick Llewellyn (project leader) rick.llewellyn@csiro.au