SUNSHINE Coast businesswoman Jacqui Wilson-Smith has won the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation 2017 Queensland  Rural Woman's Award.

Well-known for her work driving innovation at successful Palmwoods business Gourmet Garden, it was an online training platform Ms Wilson-Smith devised as chairman of the Food and Agribusiness Network that caught the attention of judges.

Ms Wilson-Smith says she will now use the $10,000 bursary to launch the website, which will help rural industries access a design-led thinking approach to solving problems in their businesses.

The learning platform that will enable the creation of virtual communities where rural businesses can collaborate, learn how to speed up the pace of innovation, reduce risks and create business growth.

"I really am passionate about sharing this knowledge and making it accessible and want to pilot it through the Food and Agribusiness Network (FAN)," Ms Wilson-Smith said.

"Thanks to the funding from this Award we are well on the way to making it happen, although we will also be looking for an additional project sponsor to get it off the ground."

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors have the lowest proportion of 'innovative-active' businesses in Australia.

Ms Wilson-Smith says new thinking and approaches are needed to drive our ambitions for growth, and her training platform is one way of driving this change.

"Design Thinking is an iterative process that can be learnt and I want to share this with our members and beyond.

"By empathising with customers to gain insights, rapidly prototyping, failing fast and ultimately innovating successfully."

The online content will be delivered in fun, engaging, digestible and extremely practical ways using multi-media such as short video documentaries, e-books, animations, podcasts, webinars, workshops and quizzes.

An initiative of the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), the Award identifies and supports emerging women leaders who have the desire, commitment and leadership potential to make a greater contribution to primary industries and rural communities.

The Award acknowledges women's leadership capacity in effecting change and influence through connecting and collaborating, and creates opportunities for women to drive innovation and build resilience.