Research, Development and Extension (RD&E)

FWPA invests in and coordinates research & development and extension through technology transfer and adoption to improve the industry’s competitiveness, inform its climate change response, enhance investment, increase usage, and ensure the sustainability of forests, wood products and services

Preferred FWPA project investments

•Precompetitive, collaborative with whole of industry access to outputs and benefits•Benefits should be tangible, quantifiable (recognizable)•Formal project proposals required to spell out issues, planned approach, final benefits and stakeholder endorsement

Program Objectives

Current budget trends decreasing

* Excluding corporate overheads# Excluding statistics and economics program

Annual Spend RD&E

2007/08* 5.594

2008/09* 6.053

2009/10* 5.702

2010/11* 7.559

2011/12 5.808

2012/13# 4.264

2013/14# 3.116

2014/15# 3.020

Significant R&D Investment outcomes in recent years• Development of softwood tree breeding systems

(MatePlan, SeedPlan)– delivering up to $100 increase to softwood NPV pha pa over 15 year period.

• Genomic characterization of E. nitens and E. globulus100 validated markers for growth100 validated markers for microfibril angle65 validated markers for kraft pulp yieldCommercial screening service now available via CSIRO

• Entire commercial P. radiata estate (both Aus and NZ) has been screened and assessed for GxE relationships based on available trial data for yield and quality.

– Results are currently being incorporated into national breeding program software to refine future crossing and deployment recommendations.

Significant R&D Investment outcomes

• Mass uptake of LIDAR technologies for remote monitoring and assessment of estate productivity. Substantial interest in emerging technologies and delivery platforms – Drones UAVs etc. – included in current DPI NSW project with Australian Centre for Field Robotics

• Tools and technologies developed and deployed in Solid Wood Innovations consortium

– Optimised kiln scheduling– Log, stem and board segregation for warp free timber– CantOpti pith and density detection system operational in 3 mills (all

transverse systems), strong interest from further users once linear system has been developed.

– SWI completing its 2 year (and final) extension in April 2016. At present no plans or discussion of a continuation.

Significant R&D Investment outcomes

• STIC technologies for commercial and multi-residential buildings – available via EWPAA.

– Jargon free design guides highlighting STIC products currently under development

• Other tools developed to support use of mass timber in commercial buildings

– Published LCAs for Forte and Australand projects– Fully costed scenarios for the substitution of mass timber into

contemporary building projects– Building design/decision making tree being developed for mass

timber buildings

Funding Agreements

• Full research agreement – traditional R&D project– Project IP owned by researcher, equity allocated to all

participants based on cash and in kind contributions– Formal steering committee to endorse milestones– End of project audit report required

• Supply Agreement– Delivery of defined objective or activities– All IP and copyright retained by FWPA– No formal audit – No formal requirement for steering committee although a

reference or advisory committee could be need for some taks.

Funding Approval Delegations

• Board– Any project > 3 years (sets strategy for

Company)– Any project > 2 years or >$100k pa not

described in approved investment plan• MD

– Any project < 2 years and < $100k pa– Any project identified and budgeted in an

approved investment plan

R&D priorities and project descriptions

• Driven by R&D investment plans• Developed by independent experts engaged to

undertake in depth consultation with FWPA members and levy payers and R&D providers (in that order)

• Are all industry outcome and benefit focused• Timeline for benefit delivery and recognition <5

years.• Very little scope for ‘strategic/blue sky’ R&D – all

projects identified in R&D plans developed to address specific industry needs.

FWPA Industry Advisory Groups• Market Access and Development (J Simon)• Solid Wood Products (C Taylor)• Sustainability and Resources (B Farmer)

– Each Chaired by FWPA Director– Membership comprises senior management (direct reports to CEO) of FWPA

member companies only– No researcher, consultant or association members– Provides guidance and final endorsement of R&D investment plans– Provides review and endorsement function for projects developed in response

to R&D investment plans– Strategic input into FWPA activities– Proposed to call for new members early in 2015 to ensure that AG

memberships reflect recent market and industry changes

Current FWPA R&D PrioritiesActive investment plans – seeking proposals in current funding round• Wood products in sustainable buildings.• Timber construction in residential buildings.• Timber construction in commercial and industrial buildings.• Solid wood, engineered wood and pulp and paper: performance

and yield – currently under revision with enhanced emphasis on value adding opportunities for options low quality wood.

• Improving wood quality and yield, and tools for forest management.

• Maximising product yields and values from current resources.• Forest biosecurity and preparedness.• Mitigation of, and adaption to, climate change and the

management of the carbon cycle in plantations and native forests

• Genetic improvement and delivery for increased wood yield, quality and for managing risks.

• Water-use efficiency, access to resources and balanced policy outcomes.

Current status of FWPA R&D Priorities

Shaded = Inactive investment priorities as of January 2013 • IP not ratified by the board proposed budget provided. Does not include SWI payments• Further $4.4M expended since 2010 on previously contracted projects not described in current R&D

investment plans.

Program Investmentplan

budget expenditure commitments Remaining

MAD Residential 1,600,000 632,800 19,700 947,500Commercial 2,100,000 721,812 776,919 601,269

Sustainable material 3,025,000 871,368 26,300 2,127,332SWP Product Yield and

Performance*2,250,000 21,275 11,000 2,217,725

S&R Forest Management tools

2,070,000 44,400 30,388 1,995,212

Adding value to current estate

1,500,000 466,537 557,730 -12,353

Genetics 3,500,000 2,795,000 137,575 567,425Plantation water

use1,250,000 255,000 45,000 950,000

Biosecurity 1,250,000 45,000 15,000 1,190,000

Climate Change 1,250,000 895,298 170,000 184,70219,795,000 6,748,490 1,789,112 10,768,812

Project completion

• Peer review of final reports – becoming challenging with decrease in research base

• All reports made available on Web page and publicised via R&DWorks newsletter and industry press

• Workshops, seminars, conference presentations supported

• Webinars becoming dominant delivery platform.

Webinars

• Becoming dominant form of R&D project communication to stakeholders

• Efficient use of time and FWPA funds• Recordings archived for subsequent access on web page• Each project listing provides access to final project report,

recorded presentation and copy of PowerPoint file used.• Permits 2 way dialogue between researchers and industry• Evolution of previous R&D Works regional roadshow format• Since program launch in May 2013

• 37webinars hosted• 2013 - 16• 2014 - 21• 214 individuals registered for webinars.• Registrants primarily technical/business development

managers and researchers/consultants• Low levels of access to archived recordings

Benefit Cost Evaluations

• Agreement amongst RDCs to subject random sample of completed projects to formal BCA review. Intended to provide confidence to Government of the ongoing value of matching funds

• For FWPA - accumulation of 4 years of BCA assessments across portfolio of completed projects.

• Greatest benefits consistently received from grower related projects – protocol sums 20 years of returns.

• Gains from market focused projects are shorter term in nature.No. of projects Total Value

investedSample projects as % of total investment

Weighted Average Benefit-cost-ratio

Forest growing research

71 $13.5 mil 6.6% 5.4Processing research

49 $11.2 mil 1.7% 1.6Market development research 102 $13.4 mil 3.4% 35.9

Shorter term R&D challenges

• Current ‘traditional’ R&D provider base at unsustainable levels for currently available R&D resources

• 2014 call for R&D proposals identified vast pool of previously untapped (and untested) national R&D capacity

• But – will take time and cash to align prospective R&D providers to industry

– Shorter term researcher placements in industry– Regional road shows/bus tours to introduce interested R&D providers

to industry structures and needs.– Industry also preferring to maintain engagement with recently retired

individuals as consultants – costly and short term

• FWPA increasingly unable to expect researcher coinvestment in projects.

– Ferguson – FWPA to directly fund full costs and for researcher engagement /capacity

– Traditional practice of having industry directly coinvest in project proposals as a sign of commitment ??

Over the horizon benefits and R&D opportunities

• Review and assessment of current R&D investment plans as well as gap analysis to identify missing areas.

• Completing and reactivation of mothballed R&D investment plans

• Focus on competitiveness of current production systems.

• Enhance productivity of current estate through adoption of available R&D outputs. Genetics, silviculture, nutrition, remote sensing, optimised harvesting, log and stem characterisation

• Excellent opportunities for international collaboration but difficult to coordinate for non traditional researchers receiving funding from other sectors and programs.

Current plantation estate supplying building markets is static and has not been expanded substantially since 1990, close to a full rotation.Population and housing forecasts are all indicating substantially higher levels of demand into the future.CRC to focus on building market of 2030 – 2050 and how timber can be best deployed to add value to that market –and profit to the sector.Current annual softwood cut of 10 Million cubic meters along with current 700k tonnes of imports could supply approximately 160k housing starts.Current population of 23 million trending towards 150k house starts. (current high levels of approvals)Population by 2030 approaching 30 million …..

Dormant CRC for Transforming Wood Fibres

Dormant CRC for Transforming Wood Fibres

• Current sawmilling sector struggles to be internationally competitive.• Labour and energy costs.

• Panel plants aging and dropping below scale of international competitors

• Future markets for high value paper looking grim.• Decimated R&D community to engage with and

develop industry solutions.

Is there an alternate way to process the available resource into structural sawn, reconstituted and value added residue markets to satisfy 2030 building sector and improve profitability and investor confidence to the sector