MilestoneReportguide–December2017 1

December 2017

Milestone Report guide

Attachment A2

A tool for delivery partners on how to produce a good Milestone Report

HortInnovation

MilestoneReportguide–December2017 2

ContentPurpose of Milestone Reports 2

Due dates and variations 3

Approval process 3

Confidential projects 4

Visual content 4

Hort Innovation’s name protocol 5

Submitting reports 5

Format and structure 6

General project overview 6

Summary 6

Achievements 7

Outputs 7

Refereed scientific publications 8

Outcomes 8

Intellectual property, commercialisation and confidentiality 8

Issues and risks 9

Other information 9

Appendices 9

PurposeofMilestoneReportsMilestoneReportsprovideaplatformfordeliverypartnerstoformallydemonstratetheprogressofaprojecttoHortInnovation–thatitisperformingwellandbeingmanagedprofessionally–andthatitisexpectedtoachieveintendedoutcomes.

MilestoneReportsassistHortInnovationwithobligationsofensuringaccountabilitytogrowersandlevypayers,theAustralianGovernmentandotherstakeholders.Theydemonstrateprojectperformanceagainstagreedmilestoneachievementcriteria,outputsandoutcomesaspertherelevant“Agreement”.InformationcollectedaspartofprojectMonitoringandEvaluation(M&E)PlansshouldbereportedinMilestoneReports.Theyalsoindicatepotentialprojectimprovements,highlightissuesandrisksandindicateintellectualproperty,commercialisationandconfidentialityissuesanddevelopments.

AlthoughMilestoneReportsareinternaldocumentsandnotformallypublished,HortInnovationusestheinformationsuppliedinMilestoneReportstocommunicateprojectprogress,updatesandoutputswithstakeholders–growers,industryparticipants,governmentandotherstakeholders–usuallythroughcommunicationschannelssuchasHortlink(ouronlinemagazine)andourwebsite.

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DuedatesandvariationsMilestoneReportsformpartoftheAgreementandareduestrictlyinaccordancewiththescheduleintherelevantAgreement.

ThefirstMilestoneReportisdesignatedMilestone102(thesigningoftheAgreementbetweenHortInnovationandthedeliverypartnermarksthefirstprojectmilestone–Milestone101–butdoesnotrequireaMilestoneReport),andthelastistheproject’sFinalReport.FormoreinformationonFinalReports,pleaserefertoHortInnovation’sFinalReportguide–availableonthedeliverypartnerportalofourwebsiteatwww.horticulture.com.au/delivery-partners.

HortInnovationregularlychecksforoverdueMilestoneReports.AMilestoneReportthatissubmittedafteritsduedate,ornotsubmittedatall,couldresultin,amongstotherthings,thesuspensionoffundingortheterminationoftheprojectduetonon-performance.

AvalidreasonforextendingtheduedateofasingleMilestoneReportmaybeconsideredbyHortInnovation,andifanextensionisrequired,arequestforextensionmustbesubmittedtotheappropriateProjectManageratHortInnovationwellinadvanceoftheduedate.Requeststochangetheduedateaftertheactualduedatewillnotbeacceptedandmayconstitutenon-performance.

Requestsforchangestomilestoneachievementcriteria,progresspayments,projectpersonnelorotherchangestoaprojectmustbemadepriortosubmittingaMilestoneReport.TheserequestsmustbediscussedwiththeappropriateProjectManageratHortInnovationwhowilladvisethecorrectcourseofaction.TheserequestswillbeassessedbyHortInnovation,andiftherequestisapprovedbyHortInnovation,theprojectdetailswillbeupdatedinHortInnovation’sprojectmanagementsystemandthroughawrittenvariationtotheAgreement.

Approvalprocess Aftersubmission,MilestoneReportsarereviewedbyHortInnovationtoensuretheymeetstandards.IfaMilestoneReportdoesnotmeetstandards,itwillbereturnedtothedeliverypartnerforeditingand/orprovidingevidenceofachievementcriteriaandresubmission.

MilestoneReportstandardsinclude,butarenotlimitedto:

> Thesummaryprovidesaneffectiveoverviewforthereportingperiod> Allachievementcriteriahavebeenachieved> ThereporthasbeenproducedusingHortInnovation’sMilestoneReportTemplate> Eachofthetemplatesectionsprovidetherequiredinformationasstipulatedbelowinthe‘Formatand

structure’section> Thereporthasundergoneproperediting.

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ConfidentialprojectsMilestoneReportsforconfidentialprojectsmustbeclearlymarkedasconfidential–thisislocatedonthefirstpageoftheMilestoneReporttemplate.

ToassistHortInnovationwithobligationsofaccuratelycommunicatingprojectprogressonaconfidentialproject,whereappropriateandpossible,aprojectprogresssummarythatisdevoidofconfidentialinformationshouldbesubmitted,withtheunderstandingthatthissummarymaybeusedinwholeorinpartinHortInnovationcommunicationchannels.Thisnon-confidentialsummaryshouldfollowthefullsummaryintheMilestoneReportstructuredescribedbelow,andmustbeclearlymarkedastheproject’s‘Publicsummary’.Itistheresponsibilityofthedeliverypartnertoensurethissummaryissuitableforpublicconsumption.

VisualcontentHortInnovationusesvisualcontenttoassistwithcommunicationtostakeholders–growers,industryparticipants,governmentandotherstakeholders.

Visualcontent,suchasimages;designs,graphicsandillustrations;footage,advertorials;andquotesandwrittencontentthataresubmittedtoHortInnovationmaybeusedtoillustrateprojectprogressoractivitiesinHortInnovationcommunicationchannels,annualreports,webpagesandthelike.

WerequestthatanyvisualcontentrelatingtoMilestoneReportactivitiesbeincludedinMilestoneReports.ThevisualcontentshouldappearinthebodyofthereportandshouldalsobesuppliedtoHortInnovationinanappropriateformat.Forphotographicimagery,theappropriateformatincludes.jpg,.tiffor.pngformatsatthebestpossibleresolution.

Dependingonfilesizes,thevisualcontentshouldbecompressedintoa.zipfolderfortransfertoHortInnovationusingoneofthetransferoptionslistedbelowalongwiththeappropriate‘Visualcontentusagerightsreleaseform’andifapplicable,a‘Talentreleaseform’asexplainedbelow.

Intellectualproperty,usagerights,attributionsandcreditsforimages:

VisualcontentsuppliedtoHortInnovationmustcontainnecessaryattributions,credits,permissions,talentreleaseandhaveusageownershiporusagerightsbyHortInnovation.Foreachimage,itisimportantthatyouprovidethisinformationusingtheappropriate‘ImageIPform’,‘Visualcontentusagerightsreleaseform’and‘Talentreleaseform’thatisavailableonthedeliverypartnerportalofourwebsiteatwww.horticulture.com.au/delivery-partners.

OptionsfortransferringimagestoHortInnovation:

> Withthereportsubmissionemail(filesizeunder10MB)> Asaseparateemail(filesizeunder10MB)> ViaWeTransfer(filesizeover10MB).

Foreachimage,thetransfershouldincludethefollowing:

> .zipimagefolder> ImageIPform(availableatwww.horticulture.com.au/delivery-partners)> Visualcontentusagerightsreleaseform’(availableatwww.horticulture.com.au/delivery-partners)> Talentreleaseform’(ifapplicable)(availableatwww.horticulture.com.au/delivery-partners).

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ToassistyouusingWeTransfer,HortInnovationhasaWeTransferguidethatisavailableonthedeliverypartnerportal.

HortInnovation’snameprotocolTostrengthentherecognitionoftheorganisation’snameitisimportantthatreferencetoournameinMilestoneReportsalignwiththefollowingstandards.

Ingeneralcommunication,theorganisationmustbereferredtoasHortInnovation.Itmustnotbeshortenedorabbreviated.

TheorganisationmustnotbereferredtoasHIA,HI,HIALoranyotheracronym.

TheorganisationmustnotbereferredtoasHorticultureInnovationAustraliaexceptinrelationtolegalnoticesandotherformaldisclaimers,suchascopyrightnotices.Intheseinstances,theonlyacceptablewaytorefertotheorganisationinthefirstinstanceisHorticultureInnovationAustraliaLimited.ItmaythenbeshortenedtoHortInnovation.

SubmittingreportsMilestoneReportsmustbesubmittedbyemailtomilestones@horticulture.com.au.

ItisexpectedthatallappendicesbeincludedintheMilestoneReportdocumentitself.Additionalfiles(suchaszippedimagefolders)canbeincludedasseparateattachments.

IfaMilestoneReportsubmissionisverylarge–over10Mbinsize–itcanbesubmittedviaHortInnovation’spreferredelectronictransferserviceWeTransfer.AlinktoHortInnovation’sWeTransferguidecanbefoundonthedeliverypartnerportalonourwebsiteatwww.horticulture.com.au/delivery-partners.Pleasenotewedonotacceptanyotherformofelectronictransfer.

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FormatandstructureMilestoneReportsmustbeproducedusingHortInnovation’sMilestoneReportTemplate.

TheMilestoneReportTemplateisavailableonthedeliverypartnerportalofourwebsiteatwww.horticulture.com.au/delivery-partners.

WehaveprovidedanoverviewofthecontentrequirementsfortheMilestoneReportTemplatesectionsbelow.

ItisimportantthatMilestoneReportsuseinformationcollectedaspertheproject’sM&EPlantoprovideevidenceofprojectperformance.HortInnovation’s‘ProjectM&Eguideandtemplate’canbefoundonthedeliverypartnerportal.

GENERALPROJECTOVERVIEWPendinganyagreedchangestoprojectaimsandactivities,thegeneralprojectoverviewwillremainthesameoneachMilestoneReport.

Itshouldbeashortsummary(nomorethanacoupleoflines)thatsuccinctlydetailswhattheprojectisabout.Forexample,whatissueitisinvestigating,whatsolutionsitislookingtofind,howitisgoingaboutthis,andwhatitwillachieveforindustry.WritteninplainEnglish,thisinformationwillbeusedbyHortInnovationtocommunicateabouttheprojectataveryhighlevelinchannelssuchasHortlink(ouronlinemagazine)andprojectlistsonourwebsite.

SUMMARYTheMilestoneReportsummaryprovidesanat-a-glanceoverviewofwhathasbeendoneandachievedinthereportingperiod.ItprovidestheinformationHortInnovationprimarilyusestocommunicateabouttheprojectwithstakeholders–growers,industryparticipants,governmentandotherstakeholders.

AsthesummarymaybepresentedseparatelyfromtheentireMilestoneReport,andtoalayaudience,itmustbeabletostandalone.Therefore,thesummarymustbeeasytounderstandinplainEnglish,conciseandfactual.Usually,alengthofonetothreeparagraphs(about500words)isappropriatetocommunicatetheprojectoutputsandoutcomesforthereportingperiod.

Youshouldprovideexamplesofprojectoutputsthathavebeendeliveredandcommentonprogresstowardsachievingtheintendedprojectoutcomes.

Pleasedonotincludeanycommerciallyorinstitutionally-sensitivematerial.

Aspertheinformationonconfidentialprojectsabove,projectsthatareconfidentialorcontainaconfidentialelementshould,wherepossible,alsoincludeaseparate‘Publicsummary’detailingthereportingperiodinawaythatissuitableforpublicrelease.

Quicktips> Keepitsimpleandeasytoread> Communicateprojectoutputsandoutcomesforthereportingperiod> Thinkaboutwhatlevy-payersandotherindustrystakeholderswantandneedtoknowabout

theproject> Describeprogresswithabig-picture-view

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ACHIEVEMENTSThissectionshouldformthebulkoftheMilestoneReport.

Thecontentmustprovideasystematicaccountofhowspecificagreedmilestoneachievementcriteria(activities,outputs,outcomes)havebeensuccessfullyachieved.Addresseachindividualcriterionseparately.Whererelevant,provideevidenceofprojectperformanceusingmonitoringdatacollectedaspertheproject’sM&EPlan.

MilestoneReportswillonlybeapprovedifalltheachievementcriteriahavebeenachieved.AnychangerequeststomilestoneachievementcriteriamustbemadetoHortInnovationaspreviouslyoutlined.

Informationthatisnotrelevanttoprojectprogressandkeyachievements,suchasbackgroundinformationanddetailedmethodology,shouldnotbeincluded.

OUTPUTSInthissection,listalloutputs(tangibledeliverablessuchasproductsandservices)thatweredeliveredduringthereportingperiod.

AsHortInnovationinvestsinsuchadiverserangeofprojects,theoutputsarewide-ranging.Thesecaninclude:reports;fieldtrialandexperimentaldata;newtechnology;newprotocolsorstandards;minorusepermits;newcultivarorrootstockvarieties;industrydata;publications/websitesandtheirreach;articlesinindustrymagazines;industrydevelopmentservices;training/extensioneventsandnumberofgrowerstrained/attendance;trainingmaterial;projectevaluationreports;annualoperatingplans;andprojectreferencegroupminutes.

Copiesoftheoutputsmustbesuppliedasanappendixwhereappropriate,oriftheoutputisdigital(suchasanonlinePDForwebsite),alinktotheoutputwouldbeappropriate.

Forindustryextension/trainingevents,includedetailssuchasdates,locations,targetaudience,numberofattendeesandsubjectmatter.Forexample:

> Forworkshopsandwebinarsprovidethedate,location,topicspresented,guestpresenters,targetaudienceandnumberofattendees

> Forarticlesinindustrypublicationsprovidethenameofthearticle,whereitappearedandreachofthepublication

> Fornewslettersincludethenameofthenewsletter,dateofthenewsletter,keytopicscoveredandthereachofthenewsletter.

Quicktips> Makethisthebulkofthereport> Addresseachcriterionseparately> Usemonitoringdatatoprovideevidenceofperformance> Keepitrelativetoprojectprogressandkeyachievements

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PleasenotethatalltangibleprojectoutputsmustcarrytheappropriateHortInnovationlogoandfundingstatement,andhaveHortInnovationapprovalpriortorelease.FurtherdetailsandtheprocessesaroundthiscanbefoundintheHortInnovationbrandguide,availableonthedeliverypartnerportalatwww.horticulture.com.au/delivery-partners.

REFEREEDSCIENTIFICPUBLICATIONSInthissection,providealistofallrefereedscientificpublicationspublishedduringthereportingperiodthatcanbeattributedorpartly-attributedtotheproject.

UsethereferencestyleprovidedinHortInnovation’sMilestoneReportTemplatethatcanbefoundonHortInnovation’sdeliverypartnerportal.

Iftherearenorefereedscientificpublicationstoreport,enter‘Nonetoreport’.

OUTCOMES Inthissection,providedetailsofprogresstowardsachievingprojectoutcomes(intermediateand/orend-of-projectoutcomes).Refertomonitoringdatacollectedtoprovideevidenceofoutcomesaspertheproject’sM&EPlan.

Intermediateoutcomesareshorttomediumtermoutcomesbroughtaboutthroughprojectactivities.Theyincludechangesingrowerknowledge,attitudes,skillsandaspirations.End-of-projectoutcomesarethedesiredresultoftheprojectandrepresenttheproject’suniquecontributiontotherelevantStrategicInvestmentPlan.Theyincludepracticeorbehaviouralchanges,adoption,accesstonewinformation/protocol/technology,improvedproductquality,incrementalimprovementsstimulatedthroughresearchanddevelopment(R&D).

INTELLECTUALPROPERTY,COMMERCIALISATIONANDCONFIDENTIALITYWheretherewasgenerationofprojectintellectualproperty(IP),provideasummaryusingtheformatoftheHortInnovationIPRegister.IfanIPRegisterwasprovidedincontractingofthisinvestment,itshouldbeupdatedtoreflectanychangesbecauseofthisinvestment.Pleasealsoprovidenarrativeregardingcommercialisationwhereappropriate.

Ifthereportisconfidential,providenarrativeregardingtherationalebehindtheconfidentiality.

Enter‘NoIP,commercialisationorconfidentialityissuestoreport’iftherearenonetoreport.

Quicktips> Listtangibledeliverablesforthereportingperiod> Supplytangibledeliverablesasanappendixordigitallink> Forindustryextension/trainingevents,supplyalltherelevantdetails> Refertomonitoringdatacollectedtoprovideevidenceofoutputsaspertheproject’sM&EPlan

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ISSUESANDRISKSProvidedetailsonnewissuesorrisksthatHortInnovationshouldbeawareof,andhowtheyarebeingmanaged.Thisshouldlinktoariskregisterwhereappropriate.

Examplesinclude:budgetissues;forthcomingchangerequests;inabilitytodeliveragreedoutputs;inabilitytoachievetheintendedprojectoutcomes;managementissues;andchangestoprojectpersonnelandanyrestrictionsorlimitationsonuseofintellectualproperty.

Enter‘Nonetoreport’iftherearenoissuesorriskstoreport.

OTHERINFORMATIONProvideanyadditionalinformationyouwouldlikeHortInnovationtobeawareofthathasnotbeendetailedelsewhere.

ProjectM&Eshouldbeusedtosupportreportingagainstachievementcriteria,outputsandoutcomes.

Enter‘Noadditionalinformationtoreport’ifthereisnoadditionalinformationtobedetailed.

APPENDICESInsertalistofalldocumentstobeappendedandattachthemtothereport.

Ifanappendixincludesinformationthatshouldnotbepublished,suchascommerciallyorinstitutionally-sensitivematerial,sensitivemeetingminutes,provideittoHortInnovationseparately.