The CottonInfo Team provides development, technical, extension and Best Management Practice support to the cotton Industry. They are employed through different institutions and work across different regions with different focus areas. The YourDATA M&E platform is being developed to assist in supporting the capture, analysis and reporting information needs for the team and assist in continuous improvement to their work in supporting the needs of the cotton industry.
CRDC’s More Profit from Nitrogen program uses a custom YourDATA M&E database to capture key monitoring and evaluation data across multiple projects. The type of data being collected included Extension Activities, Media & Communication outputs, Project Material, and Collaborative activities. A number of tweaks and updates have been made to improve the database and streamline data entry and exporting.
Coutts J&R is providing the on-going M&E support for the R&D for Profit Plant Pest Surveillance Project (iMapPESTS). This project is contracted to develop a mobile cross‐industry plant pest surveillance network, which will provide actionable information to primary producers and government on established, trade sensitive or exotic pests. It is intended to underpin existing surveillance initiatives and provide a foundation for a nation‐wide surveillance network. The evaluation included the development of an M&E framework for the project, providing an on-going YourData M&E Platform, stakeholder interviews and regular reporting against the log frame.
The Enhanced extension coordination in GBR project aims to help address the Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce recommendation that the Queensland Government invest in more targeted and coordinated extension to support large scale land management practice change that will result in improved water quality outcomes for the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The project also contributes to the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan around coordinating and prioritising investment and on-ground delivery. Coutts J&R assisted in finalising a Monitoring and Evaluation Logframe to guide the implementation and evaluation of the coordination project, undertook a cross-reef region coordination benchmark (surveys and secondary data) – to be repeated after 3 years) – and by providing a YourData Platform to capture M&E data.
Coutts J&R developed the overarching M&E Framework for the Reef water Quality projects being undertaken for the Queensland Government by DAF. This has included assisting with finalising the individual project log frames, Key Evaluation Questions and Monitoring Action Plans and developing and providing a YourData data collection platform to collect data for collation and reporting across the projects.
Sugarcane Extension Support is an extension and education program run by DAF Queensland in the reef catchments of Queensland. Extension approaches are being used across agricultural industries to facilitate changes in land management to improve water quality. The aim is to improve the great Barrier Reef water environment. In this project a Monitoring and evaluation plan was developed and data collection methods designed to maximise capturing of impact as it happens. A centralised web-based data collection system (YourDATA) is helping a diverse project to keep M&E data consistent and in one place.
This project uses the Coutts J&R YourData M&E platform to capture higher level project reporting across projects falling within the Queensland Government’s DAF Beef & Sheep program. It allows for consistent metrics and reporting to monitor and report on projects against Strategic Objectives.
Coutts J&R provides the M&E Support – including the use of its YourData M&E platform – for the DCAP program. The Drought and Climate Adaptation Program (DCAP) is an initiative to improve drought preparedness and resilience for Queensland producers. The program aims to do this by delivering a range of research, development and extension projects, improve seasonal forecasting and provide tools and systems that will support producers in their decision-making. DCAP consists of a number of projects that are managed and funded through a series of partnerships with government and industry partners. The largest partnership is the establishment of the Queensland Drought Mitigation Centre (QDMC) with the University of Southern Queensland and the Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation.