Coordinator – Soilborne Disease Initiative (SBDI)

Reference number: PROC-9177246

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Release date:: Friday 21 March 2025
Closing time:: Thursday 01 May 2025, at 05:00 PM ACT local time
Enquiry deadline:: Wednesday 23 April 2025, at 05:00 PM ACT local time

Summary

The SBDI is a strategic investment aimed at addressing the significant yield losses caused by soilborne pathogens in Australian grains. These diseases impose an annual yield loss of over $1.71 billion across all grains, with $1.23 billion in wheat alone. Current management strategies are limited by genetic resistance, chemical control options, and crop rotation constraints.

To ensure a collaborative national effort, the SBDI will be facilitated by a National Co-ordinator. This co-ordinator will facilitate and organise the annual SBDI research forum, provide support and quality assurance for all reporting and communication from programs for the GRDC Initiative Manager, and chair the annual Program Advisory Committee (PAC).

Offer period

Offers will remain open for acceptance by the GRDC for a period of 6 months after the Closing Time.

Document contact and enquiries

Attention: Anjana Gakhar or Wendy Bosci
Grains Research and Development Corporation
Email: cpprocurements@grdc.com.au

Make all requests for further information or clarification in relation to this procurement in writing (email) prior to 23 April 2025.

GRDC will publish all requests and responses to requests on the GRDC website under Questions and Answers at the bottom of this webpage.

Consortia response

GRDC will not accept Tenders from Consortia.

Lodgement of Tender

Submit your Tender response electronically through the Grains Investment Portal.

AusTender

https://www.tenders.gov.au/Advert/Show/aef66e67-be73-4cf0-8599-91594cf0fdfe

Description

The Soilborne Disease Initiative (SBDI) is a strategic investment aimed at addressing the significant yield losses caused by soilborne pathogens in Australian grains. These diseases impose an annual yield loss of over $1.71 billion across all grains, with $1.23 billion in wheat alone. Current management strategies are limited by genetic resistance, chemical control options, and crop rotation constraints.

The SBDI proposes a coordinated approach to tackle these pathogens through a single collaborative program. This initiative will merge existing pathogen-specific investments into a comprehensive effort involving six nodes across various regions in Australia. The program will focus on integrated disease management, economic impact assessment, and novel strategies for disease control.

The benefits of this investment include providing growers with practical and economical options to control pathogen load, reducing associated yield losses, and enhancing the development and adoption of integrated management strategies. The initiative is expected to optimize profitability, sustainability, and resilience across the grains sector.

In summary, the SBDI represents a substantial and necessary increase in resources dedicated to soilborne disease management. It aims to deliver significant economic returns by reducing yield losses and providing innovative solutions to growers, ultimately benefiting the entire grains industry.

The Soilborne Disease Initiative (SBDI) will see a coordinated approach to tackle a wide range of SBD pathogens. The SBDI will deliver five programs:

Program 1. Economic impact of soilborne disease. (2-year program, commencing Jan 2026)
Program 2. Mapping soilborne disease at a paddock scale. (3-year program, commencing Jan 2026)
Program 3. Integrated management of soilborne disease. (5-year program, commencing Jul 2025)
Program 4. Novel strategies for soilborne disease control. (4-year program, commencing Jan 2026)
Program 5. National SBDI Co-ordination. (5-year program, commencing Jul 2025)

Program 3 of the SBDI will have six nodes across WA, SA, VIC, NSW and QLD. Pathologists from key SBD pathosystems will work together around the key themes of Integrated Disease Management (IDM) of SBD. The expertise of national leaders from current investments will be maintained within Program 3 as theme leaders for each disease/crop pathosystem; Fusarium Crown Rot (cereals), Rhizoctonia Bare Patch (cereals), Sclerotinia Stem Rot (oilseeds. pulses), Nematodes (cereals/pulses), Fungi/Oomycetes (pulses).

In addition to continuing the current IDM investments, the SBDI will deliver three new multidisciplinary programs. These programs will gather essential knowledge to guide future GRDC investments and provide growers with strategic, practical and economical options to control pathogen load and reduce associated yield losses.

The SBDI will be supported by a strategic communication, extension and adoption program through AFREN ensuring a strong focus on delivery of outputs and information generated being extended to growers with clear demonstration to adoption. This will ensure the prompt delivery of outputs to growers and advisers. Emphasising regional extension and practical demonstration of developed research will ensure that growers have timely access to cutting-edge information and best practices for addressing their soilborne disease management challenges.

To ensure a collaborative national effort, the SBDI will be facilitated by a National Co-ordinator (Program 5 – this tender). This co-ordinator will facilitate and organise the annual SBDI research forum, provide support and quality assurance for all reporting and communication from programs for the GRDC Initiative Manager, and chair the annual Program Advisory Committee (PAC).

The SBDI research forum requires a budget for venue, catering, and audio/visual costs for about 50 attendees. Individual programs will cover travel and accommodation costs for their own staff. The annual PAC meeting needs similar arrangements for around 24 participants, however, the PAC will include 3 regional agronomists who will require budget allocated within this tender for the meetings (including payment for their time). The PAC will provide expert advice and guidance, ensure project outputs are met, identify potential risks, advise on relevant activities outside the initiative's scope, and foster connections between projects and stakeholders.

Outcome

Outputs

Program 5. National SBDI Co-ordination.

By July 2026, and yearly thereafter, the SBDI will be co-ordinated to ensure Australian soilborne disease researchers are engaged in a collaborative national effort, facilitated by a SBDI Coordinator.

This five-year program will ensure national co-ordination of the SBDI. A national SBDI co-ordinator will:

facilitate and organise the annual SBDI research forum,
facilitate, organise, and chair the annual Program Advisory Committee (PAC),
provide support and quality assurance for all reporting from the SBDI programs for the GRDC Initiative Manager, and
provide support for the independent external monitoring and evaluation of the SBDI as part of the GRDC Benefits Realisation Plan.

In coordination with AFREN and the node leaders, deliver an agreed communications and extension strategy, utilising regional experts from the SBDI to promote best practice SBD management to growers and advisers including face-to-face workshops/field trials at a local, regional and national level.

Duration 5 years.

Proposed Budget

Proposed Contract & Term

GRDC will contract under the terms of the Services Contract.

The schedule(s) attached to the contract will detail the project details: the outcomes, outputs, milestones, budget, participating personnel and required intellectual property.

The template contract containing the proposed Terms and Conditions is available on the Application resources page on the GRDC website.

It is anticipated that any resultant contract in relation to this procurement will commence with a proposed term of five years.

Conditions for Participation

The following are mandatory conditions with which a Tenderer must comply to participate in this procurement process:

The Tenderer must be a single legal entity or recognised firm of partners
The Tenderer and any proposed subcontractor must be compliant with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, the Modern Slavery Act 2018 and any other applicable labour laws and standards in the jurisdiction in which they operate.
The Tenderer and any subcontractor must not have a judicial decision against it (not including decisions under appeal) relating to employee entitlements and who have not paid the claim.
The Tenderer and any subcontractor must not be named on the Consolidated List, being the list of persons and entities who are subject to targeted financial sanctions or travel bans under Australian sanction laws, as maintained by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Minimum Form and Content Requirements

The following are the mandatory content and format requirements that the Tenderer must complete and provide to participate in this procurement process:

Submit Tenders using the Grains Investment Portal.
Write Tenders in English and express any measurements in Australian legal units of measurement.
Budget details must be submitted on the ‘GRDC Budget Template’ provided in the Grains Investment Portal.

Evaluation Criteria

In the table below are the Evaluation Criteria that the Tender Evaluation Team will use to assess the value for money of all Tenders.

No	Type	Weighting
1	Technical – Qualitative evaluation criteria related to non-price factors such as methodology, project plan, track record, experience.
1a	A list of all key personnel, including proposed sub-contractors, detailing relevant: knowledge experience, including collaborating with industry personnel and stakeholders achievements of the project lead in providing effective leadership, management and timely delivery of high quality outputs.	30%
1b	Demonstrated track record of the project team, including: a) relevant achievements of the project leader in providing leadership, co-ordination, management, monitoring and evaluation and the timely delivery of high quality outputs b) relevant technical knowledge and experience of all key personnel (including proposed subcontractors) in the research area c) relevant achievements in the delivery of commercial IP (if relevant) d) ability of the project team to collaborate with the relevant research organisations and industry personnel to build on the research (national and international) already undertaken in this area	40%
1c	A detailed plan to deliver the investment outcome and outputs, specifying the: specific information, products and/or services to be delivered key tasks/milestones, responsible parties and indicative timeframes project team structure and management arrangements, including collaborations with organisations, commercial companies and/or other projects with relevant data.	30%
2	Price - The tendered budget.	N/A
3	Risk - Risks inherent in the application including the degree of compliance with the draft contract and any actual or perceived conflict of interest.	N/A
4	Australian economy - The economic benefit of the procurement to the Australian economy.	N/A