Encouraging Participation in Market Based Instruments and Incentive Programs

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This is the final report of the LWA funded research project CSU29.

The goal of this research project has been to understand how to improve the design and delivery of MBIs and incentive programs to increase the participation of landholders. Low levels of participation can reduce the ability of programs to achieve their desired outcomes, as well as reduce their efficiency. To understand how to increase landholder participation, answers to three main research questions have been sought, namely 1) what are the characteristics of MBIs and incentive programs that encourage participation, 2) who participates in MBIs and incentive programs and 3) how can MBIs and incentives be better communicated to increase participation?

A mixed methods research design was used to provide answers to these questions. This included a literature review (two working papers), 25 expert interviews (one working paper), eight focus groups (one working paper) in four regions of NSW and Queensland, and a quantitative survey of about 6000 landholders from two Catchment Management Authority (CMA) areas in NSW (Central West and Northern Rivers), two regional body areas in Queensland (Condamine Alliance and Mackay-Whitsundays) and one CMA area in South Australia (Mt Lofty Ranges).