CQUniversity Unit Profile
AGRI13001 Social Licence to Operate
Social Licence to Operate
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The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.
General Information

Overview

This unit introduces the principles and practices relevant to the social licence to farm. You will learn about the concept of the social licence to operate, the social obligations of farmers and identify drivers of social licence. You will also develop the skills to measure the levels and factors of the social licence to operate, and learn techniques for raising the level of social licence, using specific industry case studies and scenarios.

Details

Career Level: Undergraduate
Unit Level: Level 3
Credit Points: 6
Student Contribution Band: 7
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisite AGRI11005 Agricultural Business Planning

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Offerings For Term 1 - 2021

Bundaberg
Emerald
Online
Rockhampton

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Class and Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Class Timetable

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Written Assessment
Weighting: 40%
2. Presentation and Written Assessment
Weighting: 60%

Assessment Grading

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.

Previous Student Feedback

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Feedback from Assessment

Feedback

Assessment 2 weightings - group vs individual component.

Recommendation

Assessment 2 is worth 60%. In T1 2020, 5% of this was associated with a self and peer assessment task, 15% to an individual presentation and 40% to a written group assessment. This distribution of marks, particularly the large percentage assigned to the group component, seemed to have the impact of medializing overall student grades such that students who excelled in individual assessment tasks were significantly disadvantaged by the lower group component mark. In the self and peer assessment tasks, some students commented on the inequity in contributions to the group assessment task among their team members. To overcome this, steps should be taken to either ensure better participation in the group assessment component, or to reduce the weighting of group component of Assessment 2.

Feedback from Moodle "Have Your Say" Feedback

Feedback

Students needed more information and assistance with Assessment 1

Recommendation

Students felt that Assessment 1 required some more information and clarity. To ensure that students are clearer on the requirements of Assessment 1, a tutorial in weeks 1 or 2 should be dedicated to explaining and discussing this assessment. An exemplar should also be made available on Moodle.

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. Explain the principles of a social licence to operate.
  2. Make an informed decision regarding the social obligation of farmers.
  3. Apply the concepts and principles of a 'social licence to operate' to a business case in agriculture.
  4. Present a case for the requirements of maintaining a durable 'social licence to operate'.
Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes
N/A Level
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Professional Level
Advanced Level

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes

Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment - 40%
2 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 60%

Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes

Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
4 - Information Literacy
5 - Team Work
6 - Information Technology Competence
7 - Cross Cultural Competence
8 - Ethical practice
9 - Social Innovation
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes

Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Written Assessment - 40%
2 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 60%
Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

There are no required textbooks.

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
  • Wordprocessing, spreadsheeting and powerpoint software; access to audio or video recording technology
Referencing Style

All submissions for this unit must use the referencing styles below:

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts
Saba Sinai Unit Coordinator
s.sinai@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Week 1 Begin Date: 08 Mar 2021

Module/Topic

Introduction & History of the Social Licence to Operate in Agriculture

Chapter

Reading: Martin and Williams (2011). Chapters 1 and 2 of "Defending the Social Licence of Farming". (Link to be provided via Moodle)

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 2 Begin Date: 15 Mar 2021

Module/Topic

The Urban Rural Divide in Social Licence

Chapter

Reading: Woodward (2017). "The Urban Rural Divide: How can the New Zealand Dairy Industry protect and better its social licence with New Zealand’s Urban Populations?" (Link to be provided via Moodle)

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 3 Begin Date: 22 Mar 2021

Module/Topic

Measuring the Social Licence to Operate

Chapter

Reading: Boutilier and Thomson (2011). “Modelling and measuring the social license to operate: Fruits of a dialogue between theory and practice.” (Link to be provided via Moodle)

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 4 Begin Date: 29 Mar 2021

Module/Topic

Climate Change and Agriculture

Chapter

Reading: Eckard and Clark (2018). "Potential solutions to the major greenhouse-gas issues facing Australasian dairy farming." (Link to be provided via Moodle)

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 5 Begin Date: 05 Apr 2021

Module/Topic

Biodiversity and Agri-Environment Schemes

Chapter

Reading: Introduction Chapter of Ansell, Gibson and Salt (2016). "Learning from agri-environment schemes in Australia: Investing in biodiversity and other ecosystem services on farms." (Link to be provided via Moodle)

Events and Submissions/Topic

Social Licence Issues Essay Due: Week 5 Friday (9 Apr 2021) 11:45 pm AEST
Vacation Week Begin Date: 12 Apr 2021

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic


Week 6 Begin Date: 19 Apr 2021

Module/Topic

Water Use and Contamination

Chapter

Reading: Grafton (2019). "Policy review of water reform in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia: the “do's” and “do'nots”." (Link to be provided via Moodle)

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 7 Begin Date: 26 Apr 2021

Module/Topic

Land Use Conflict and Land Use Planning


Chapter

Reading: Erica Hellerstein and Ken Fine: "A million tons of feces and an unbearable stench: life near industrial pig farms" in The Guardian Newspaper, 2017. (Link to be provided via Moodle)

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 8 Begin Date: 03 May 2021

Module/Topic

Animal Welfare

Chapter

Reading Cornish, Ashton, Raubenheimer and McGreevy. (2019). "Australian Consumers’ Knowledge and Concern for Animal Welfare in Food Production: Influences on Purchasing Intentions." (Link to be provided via Moodle)

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 9 Begin Date: 10 May 2021

Module/Topic

Live Animal Export


Chapter

Reading: "Live Export - a chronology" - Parliament of Australia (Link to be provided via Moodle)

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 10 Begin Date: 17 May 2021

Module/Topic

Labour Conditions in Agriculture

Chapter

Reading: International Labour Organization (2019). "Activists welcome progress towards eradication of forced labour, child labour in Uzbekistan" (Link to be provided via Moodle)

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 11 Begin Date: 24 May 2021

Module/Topic

Human Health and Agriculture

Chapter

Reading: Portier, Armstrong, Baguley, et al (2016). "Differences in the carcinogenic evaluation of glyphosate between the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)" (Link to be provided via Moodle)

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 12 Begin Date: 31 May 2021

Module/Topic

Working with Local Communities

Chapter

Reading: Peter Edwards et al (2019). "Trust, engagement, information and social licence—insights from New Zealand" (Link to be provided via Moodle)

Events and Submissions/Topic

Review/Exam Week Begin Date: 07 Jun 2021

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Social Licence Scenario Presentation and Report Due: Review/Exam Week Tuesday (8 June 2021) 11:45 pm AEST
Exam Week Begin Date: 14 Jun 2021

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment Tasks

1 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Social Licence Issues Essay

Task Description

Assessment 1 is a written assessment based on a prominent social licence issue facing Australian agriculture. For Assessment 1 you are required to write a 2500-word persuasive essay in response to a statement on a particular issue. You are required to select one from a list of statements that will be provided to you on Moodle in Week 1. In your essay you should state whether or not you agree with the statement and provide an evidence-based justification for your position (agree/disagree). Your essay should explore the obligation of farmers and the range of current societal perspectives on the issue, even if they do not align with your own viewpoint.

Your essay should follow the following format, with suggested word counts in parentheses (note that references, figure legends and tables are not included in the word count):

1. Introduction (~400 words)

2. Body: with various subheadings, the names and content of which will depend on your issue (~1800 words)

3. Conclusion (~300 words)

4. References (APA or Harvard Style)

Include at least 10 references (References can be peer-reviewed journal articles, government reports, industry papers, media publications and other reputable sources).

The word limit does not include headings, tables, figure legends and references. The word count of your essay should remain within 10% of the word limit (2250 to 2750 words) .


Assessment Due Date

Week 5 Friday (9 Apr 2021) 11:45 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Week 6 Friday (23 Apr 2021)


Weighting
40%

Minimum mark or grade
50%

Assessment Criteria

You will be marked on:

· Clear and professional written communication

· Ability to define the social licence to operate

· Analysis of the social/cultural/economic/environmental impacts of the social licence issue

· Analysis of the social obligation of farmers and agricultural industries

· Analysis of societal perspectives on the issue

· Ability to formulate and present your argument

· Formatting and Referencing

A marking rubric will be available to you on Moodle.


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Explain the principles of a social licence to operate.
  • Make an informed decision regarding the social obligation of farmers.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Cross Cultural Competence
  • Ethical practice

2 Presentation and Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Social Licence Scenario Presentation and Report

Task Description

Assessment 2 (60%) is based on one of a selection of four scenarios. Each scenario contains details of a proposed agribusiness. You will be provided with all of the specifications of the business (size, stock numbers, foreign ownership composition, location etc.) and a brief summary of the demographics and socioeconomic situation of the local community as well as the results of a survey into the community’s views on relevant farming practices.

Assessment 2 is comprised of three components: presentation (group task: 35%), written report (individual task: 20%) and a self and peer assessment (5%). Only one member of the group should submit the presentation. All students will need to submit their individual written report and self and peer assessment (SPA).

Part 1: Group Presentation

Based on the selected scenario, you are to work in small groups (4-5 people) to develop a 20-minute presentation outlining the steps that a proposed agribusiness should take to ensure it is granted and maintains a social licence to operate from the community. You will be provided with all of the specifications of the farm (size, stock numbers, foreign ownership composition, location etc.) and a brief summary of the demographics and socioeconomic situation of the local community as well as the results of a survey into the community’s views on relevant farming practices.

In the scenario provided, the corporation you are to prepare the presentation for takes social licence very seriously and recognises that gaining a social licence is a vital part of their obligations to the community. As such, that corporation’s leadership team are willing to implement all of the measures that you and your team recommend in order to ensure that a social licence is granted. They have asked your team to prepare a 20-minute presentation that must be presented in the following format:

1. Title.

2. Introduction:

        a. An Acknowledgement of Country (or Welcome to Country if one of your group members is a traditional owner from the cultural         group on whose land the event took place) appropriate to the scenario location.

        b. A suggested name for the farm.

        c. Summary of the farm.

        d. Explaining the concept of a social licence.

3. Identify key stakeholders and their relationship with the proposed farm.

4. Identification of at least three social licence issues and how they apply to the proposed farm.

5. Suggestions on how the corporation will manage community expectations around each of these issues including any innovative strategies. Keep in mind that some issues will only be relevant to local community residents whilst others might also call for gaining a broader (state, national) social licence.

6. Strategy for measuring and maintaining social licence.

7. Conclusion.

8. References.

9. Statement of Contribution (Here you must outline the contributions of each group member to the presentation).

You will base your recommendations for social licence-gaining activities on a range of sources as well as the scenario information (farm specifications, a brief summary of the demographics and socioeconomic situation of the community, and the results of a survey into the community’s views on relevant farming practices). You may reference information from a variety of sources including peer-reviewed journal articles, survey data, government reports, consultant reports, media sources and other reliable sources. You must include at least 10 references.

You may present your presentation in first person plural (i.e. “we” “us”) or in third person. You must remain within 1 minute of the time limit (19 to 21 minutes).

Part 2: Individual Written Report

Part 2 of Assessment 2 is an individual written task based on your group’s chosen scenario. After you have informed the unit coordinator of the scenario your group has selected for this assessment, the unit coordinator will assign each student a stakeholder group relevant to the selected scenario. You must develop and deliver a 2250-word written report outlining how you will seek to maintain a social licence to operate, particularly in the context of the relevant stakeholder group’s priorities and interests.

The report should be written with the following format (word count suggestions in parentheses, please note that references, figure legends and tables are not included in the word count):

1. Introduction to your company, the agribusiness, and the proposed activities to be carried out on the farm/business. Here you should also include an Acknowledgement of Country (or Welcome to Country if one of your group members is a traditional owner from the cultural group on whose land the event took place) appropriate to the scenario location. (~300 words)

2. Explanation of the Social Licence to Operate. (~250 words)

3. Actions to be taken to ensure that the stakeholder group grants a social licence to operate. (~700 words)

4. How you will engage with the stakeholder group and review their expectations. (~550 words)

5. How you will respond to any changing expectations. (~350 words)

6. Conclusion (~100 words)

7. References

Part 3: Self and Peer Assessment

You will also be required to submit a Self and Peer Assessment worth 5/60 for this assessment (Details on conducting the Self and Peer Assessment will be provided on Moodle.)


Assessment Due Date

Review/Exam Week Tuesday (8 June 2021) 11:45 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Exam Week Friday (18 June 2021)


Weighting
60%

Minimum mark or grade
50%

Assessment Criteria

Peer assessment – this is for both the presentation and the report (Details on conducting the Self and Peer Assessment will be provided on Moodle)

For the report you will be marked on:

    · Clear and professional written communication

    · Ability to define social licence

    · Ability to identify relevant stakeholders

    · Ability to identify and analyse relevant social licence issues with respect to the scenario

    · Quality of the various proposed community-related strategies

    · Formatting and Referencing


For the presentation you will be marked on:


    · Clear, professional and appropriate oral communication

    · Ability to define social licence

    · Ability to engage with the relevant audience

    · The quality of the various proposed community-related strategies

    · Formatting and Presentation


Referencing Style

Submission
Online Group

Submission Instructions
Only one group member is required to submit the presentation. Each student must submit their own individual written assessment. Each student must submit their own self and peer assessment task.

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Explain the principles of a social licence to operate.
  • Make an informed decision regarding the social obligation of farmers.
  • Apply the concepts and principles of a 'social licence to operate' to a business case in agriculture.
  • Present a case for the requirements of maintaining a durable 'social licence to operate'.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Team Work
  • Information Technology Competence
  • Cross Cultural Competence
  • Ethical practice

Academic Integrity Statement

As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.

Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.

When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.

Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.

As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.

What is a breach of academic integrity?

A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.

Why is academic integrity important?

A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.

Where can I get assistance?

For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.

What can you do to act with integrity?