‘Thinker in Residence’ with the Birchip Cropping Group (BCG) Dr Lauren Rickards, has been awarded the inaugural Amabel Fulton Memorial Award for Excellence in Extension. Dr Rickards, a Rhodes Scholar, was engaged to develop and lead BCG’s Critical Breaking Point? social research and subsequently took on the position of ‘Thinker in Residence’ to help BCG understand and address emerging issues.
“Lauren has been instrumental in changing the perception of drought, the understanding of how it impacts on individual farming families and communities, and the strategies and policies to implement. Her capacity to extract the underlying issues and to articulate and communicate this compassionately and thoughtfully, regardless of the audience, is truly exceptional,” said BCG Chief Executive Alexandra Gartmann.
With Dr Rickards leadership, endless energy, ideas and commitment, BCG implemented ground-breaking social research on the impact of drought. Lauren contributes at all levels, from policy with investors and partners, to on-farm interviews with drought-affected farmers. Dr Rickards used the Critical Breaking Point? research to engage and communicate with a wide audience, to bring the concerns and emotions of the farming community to the attention of the metropolitan audience and decision makers.
Ms Gartmann added “Lauren does not crave the limelight, but fosters people to achieve great things – supporting, encouraging and pushing us to continue our extraordinary journey. Her skill, knowledge and understanding are evident in the sensitive and insightful interpretation of interviews and issues. Her passion and commitment to the rural agricultural community is unfaltering and she has an intuitive ability to respond to varying audiences.”
Critical Breaking Point? aimed to understand the perspectives, concerns and decision-making of farming families at a time when options were restricted by financial circumstances and when confidence has been weakened by a series of dry seasons. The work has not just been pivotal to BCG, but to the interviewees involved. One of the sixty interviewees provided feedback on the value of the process, “The questions have made us think about things that you normally don’t sit down and think about… You’ve [BCG] been a free counsellor!”
The award was presented at the Australasia Pacific Extension Network Conference held in Busselton, WA in early November.
