Invasive weeds are a persistent and costly threat to biodiversity, agriculture and cultural landscapes worldwide. Once established, these species require ongoing management to mitigate their impacts. The stakes are high: without sustained control, invasive weeds can erode the value of natural, cultural and production assets, undermine ecological resilience, and jeopardise the benefits these assets provide to communities.

Effective weed management is not just about reducing threat; it is about maintaining and enhancing asset condition. This means not only suppressing weed populations to protect what we have but also enabling recovery and improvement of what we value. Achieving these outcomes demands more than just on-ground action; it requires robust, concurrent monitoring and evaluation to understand whether, where, and when control activities are truly making a difference.

For land managers and policy makers, this information is essential. It allows them to demonstrate the value of their investments in weed control and to allocate limited resources efficiently and adaptively for maximum benefit. However, outcomes-focused monitoring and evaluation is fraught with scientific, digital and institutional challenges, ranging from capturing and integrating diverse data sources, to analysing complex ecological responses, and delivering insights that are actionable within decision-making processes.

Our goal is to address these challenges by developing innovative, user-centred digital solutions that empower stakeholders to overcome the challenges of outcomes-focused weed management. Recognising that effective management depends on robust evidence, our approach brings together diverse expertise and data sources through a collaborative, co-design process.