Empowering collaboration and innovation across human, energy, economic, and technology systems to regenerate our planet.
🌱 Return on Collaboration: From Tragedy to Triumph 🍇 What if, instead of the Tragedy of the Commons, we created the Triumph of Collaboration? That’s the story emerging from Tasmania’s wine sector, as told in a remarkable research paper released last week on Enterprise Suitability Mapping. By aligning government investment, scientific innovation, and deep stakeholder engagement, Tasmania turned climate data into collective action and economic value. Q - So what happened? Over a decade of co-investment and co-design between government, researchers, and industry led to high-resolution geospatial maps that guide where and how to grow crops in a changing climate. These aren’t just maps, they’re trust-building tools, conversation starters, and investment de-riskers. The wine industry in Tasmania, particularly, used these tools to: 🍷 Choose optimal vineyard locations 🍷 Match varietals to future climate conditions 🍷 Secure private investment and reduce climate risk 🍷 Spark $ 4 M+ in new development and local jobs Crucially, the success wasn’t just technical; it was cultural. It worked because: 🤝 Collaboration was embedded from the start 🤝 Open data enabled shared understanding 🤝 Mutual benefit replaced individual competition This is a clear case where Return on Collaboration outperformed what any one actor could have achieved alone. It's a blueprint for turning limited resources into collective value. Now imagine this at scale! What if similar collaborative approaches were adopted across Australia’s agricultural and environmental value chains, from regenerative grazing to forestry, aquaculture, and urban development? We could unlock a wave of smarter, climate-resilient investments. Farmers, scientists, Indigenous land stewards, tech innovators, and policymakers working from shared maps, aligned incentives, and trust, not only adapt to climate pressures but also regenerate land, livelihoods, and ecosystems. This is the sort of collaborative action that I want to not only see happening but want to actively support :) The paper was written by Tia Brullo, Jon Barnett, Elissa Waters, Mathew Webb, Sarah Boulter and Darren Kidd. A link is in the comments.