ABSTRACT
Understanding the post-World War II rural research policy regime requires at the very least a brief consideration of what preceded it. The recent Productivity Commission review of rural research provides examples of the contributions this research has made to economic, environmental and social outcomes for rural and regional Australia. This chapter discusses the capacity for rural research policy to build future resilience in the bush, it needs to explore who exactly will be setting the agenda in which the meaning of resilience is framed. It is worthwhile revisiting rural research policy since World War II in terms of the loci of power and where it is heading. Since World War II, statutory arrangements for primary industry functions have been at the forefront of developments in wider statutory organisation design, funding, management and control. Past rural research has largely followed a productivist pathway, shaped by a coalition between government and industry bodies that voices the concerns of Australia's farmers.
