General

We recently enjoyed reading David Pannell’s insightful exploration of risk versus uncertainty in agricultural decision-making. It inspired us to delve deeper into these concepts and their practical implications for enablers of change. In his blog post, and also in Abadi Ghadim et al. (2005), he helped shed light on the nuances of these terms and how they impact farming practices. Inspired by his discussion, in this episode we’re highlighting… Read more »Uncertain about risk, or risking uncertainty?

In this episode, we’re diving into the critical yet sometimes overlooked concept of piloting potential solutions. We’ll explore how extension practitioners, or as we prefer to say, enablers of change, can harness the power of piloting to foster on-farm innovation and create lasting impact. Piloting is not just a step in the process; it’s the bridge between ideas and their real-world application. We think piloting is an essential component… Read more »Piloting for success

In this episode, we’re exploring design thinking—a methodology that helps us tackle complex challenges in a structured yet flexible way. As enablers of change, we often work with farmers, advisers, and industry stakeholders to develop innovative solutions. Design thinking provides a human-centred framework that ensures these solutions are not only technically sound but also practical, user-friendly, and enable greater impact. Design thinking is an iterative, non-linear process that includes… Read more »Using extension design thinking

In this episode, we’re taking a deep dive into the double diamond process and how it can be used effectively by extension practitioners to enhance on-farm innovation and impact. The double diamond is more than just a visual framework; it’s a guide to problem-solving that enables us, as enablers of change, to navigate complex challenges with clarity and purpose. The double diamond process, developed by the Design Council in… Read more »Mastering the double diamond process

Welcome back to Enablers of Change, a place where we explore all things agricultural extension and change. We’re John James and Denise Bewsell. Thanks for tuning in! Today, we’re diving into a fascinating project we recently wrapped up, the Australian Extension Capacity and Capability – A Map and a Gap Analysis, funded by AgriFutures Australia. We know what you’re thinking: another research project. But this one was pretty special,… Read more »Enhancing agricultural extension in Australia

Many of us, as enablers of change, work with groups. We’re thinking about peer-to-peer farmer groups such as action groups, discussion groups, and catchment groups. If we’re focused on shared learning and success for those groups, then being able to guide them through the ups and downs of working together is important. To do that well, we need to understand the different stages that groups move through. So let’s… Read more »Understanding stages of group development

In this episode, we’re taking a deep dive into the concept of the Technology Readiness Level and expanding it to explore the Balanced Readiness Level approach. This perspective is essential for us as enablers of change, as it helps us assess not only how ready a technology is from a technical standpoint but also how it stands in terms of market, regulatory, organisational, and acceptance readiness. Using this approach… Read more »A balanced approach to using the Technology Readiness Level

As we celebrate five years of sharing content through the Enablers of Change platform, one question we’re often asked is why we provide our information in three formats: videos, blog posts, and podcasts. The answer is simple—people have different preferences for how they like to consume information. Some of us enjoy the visual engagement of a video, others prefer the flexibility of reading a blog at their own pace, and… Read more »5 years unwrapped: The episodes you’ve loved the most!

Can you believe that it’s nearly the end of 2024? We’ve covered lots of content this year, starting with understanding the difference between correlation and causation, and we’ve moved through discussing Teams versus Zoom, appreciative inquiry, and we’ve delivered a couple of mythbuster episodes as well. We’ve covered a lot! We’re also celebrating five years of Enablers of Change! Can you believe we launched this at the APEN conference… Read more »2024… Thanks for another great year!