New dashboard to help identify shared investment opportunities across horticulture

Hort Innovation is nearing completion of a new Horticulture Investment Roadmap Dashboard that will make it easier for growers, peak industry bodies and industry stakeholders to see how levy investments align with industry priorities and identify opportunities for greater collaboration across horticulture.

The Dashboard – which is part of the strategic Horticulture Investment Roadmap refresh, which aims to maximise value from the $85 million annual horticulture investment portfolio, supporting more coordinated and purposeful decisions across research, development and marketing investments – was previewed with peak industry body representatives at the 2026 Peak Industry Body Forum in Melbourne, alongside an update on the new Investment Roadmaps.

Developed in response to industry feedback calling for a simpler, clearer and more accessible approach to investment planning, the Dashboard brings together information that has traditionally been spread across multiple Annual Investment Plan and Strategic Investment Plan documents into a single interactive platform.

Through the Dashboard, users will be able to explore industry priorities, view initiatives by industry and segment, identify common challenges and opportunities, see where levy funds are being invested, and access levy fund financial forecasts. By bringing this information together in one place, the Dashboard helps industry and Hort Innovation identify where investments can be better aligned to deliver greater value and impact.

A key feature of the Dashboard is its ability to provide both an all-of-horticulture view and detailed industry-specific views. This allows users a better understanding of where priorities overlap across industries and where collaboration could deliver greater returns for growers.

Andrew Francey, General Manager Industry Service and Delivery at Hort Innovation, reflected on the response from industry representatives: “Ultimately, the Roadmaps and Dashboard help us take a more strategic view of the entire horticulture investment portfolio, ensuring we get the greatest possible value and impact from industry's investments. At the PIB Forum, this opportunity was clear and there was a positive sentiment in the room during the demonstration, with many industry representatives excited by the opportunities this tool creates.

“For the first time, industries will be able to easily identify where priorities align and have more informed conversations about partnering their levy investments to achieve larger, shared benefits for growers and the broader horticulture sector.”

Looking ahead, the Dashboard will serve as a practical planning tool to help Hort Innovation and industry identify common priorities more quickly and use these insights to support future investment scoping, collaboration and decision making.

For Hort Innovation, Strategic Investment Advisory Panels and peak industry bodies, the Dashboard will also support more informed discussions about how best to respond to grower needs and deliver impact through levy investments.

“The Dashboard provides a level of visibility and transparency that will help drive more strategic discussions about future investment opportunities, making it a game changer for the whole industry,” concluded Mr Francey.

The Horticulture Investment Roadmap Dashboard is expected to be available via the Hort Innovation website from September 30, 2026, with online training resources to be made available ahead of launch.