Concerns raised about “exclusive focus on funding research that delivers commercialisation”
Scientists and research institution leaders have expressed alarm at New Zealand’s latest national budget, saying it takes money from active research to fund restructuring.
The budget, delivered on 22 May by finance minister Nicola Willis, “reprioritises” funding towards research and innovation the government describes as “growth-promoting”. The amount allocated to science and research will remain stable, meaning a decrease in real terms after inflation.
In a statement, science minister Shane Reti said that NZ$20 million in the budget will fund the setup of three new public research organisations being formed from the existing Crown Research Institutes.
“We need publicly funded research to focus on economic growth. We want researchers to use cutting-edge science to solve real-world problems that can be commercialised or help us to prepare for the impacts of natural hazards or climate change,” Reti said
Sam McColl, president of the Geoscience Society of New Zealand, said the budget did “little to reverse the recent trajectory of cuts in funding across the stretched science and tertiary education sectors”. He highlighted a “flatlining of major contestable funding and core funding for research and tertiary institutes” at a time when the country is in need of a geoscience workforce that can help find ways to use natural resources.
Jeremy Moses, president of the New Zealand Political Studies Association, said that “while it appears that significant cuts to tertiary funding feared by many within the sector have not materialised, we remain concerned about the exclusive focus on funding research that delivers commercialisation, economic growth and technological innovation”.
He said the political and social sciences are being “run down…through denial of funding opportunities”.
Pania Te Maro, an associate professor of education at Massey University, said the budget “narrowly focuses on science for profit and commercial enterprise, stripping away safety mechanisms and marginalising Indigenous wisdom”.
Several scientists suggested the budget could only contribute to a “brain drain” from the science system. Pierre Roudier, president of the New Zealand Society of Soil Science, said that while the funding for the new public research organisations will “bring a sense of relief”, it is “extremely concerning” that the money is being taken from existing spending.
“This scarcity in research funding, particularly towards fundamental research, will continue to hamper and limit the contributions of the science sector (including soil science) to the innovation economy,” Roudier said.
Education, regulation and venture capital
The budget included an additional NZ$100m for the Elevate New Zealand venture capital fund. The government-backed fund invests in startups, including health and technology companies. To date, much of the fund’s investment has been via third-party funds.
Reti and vocational education minister Penny Simmonds issued a joint statement on 22 May saying the budget would include an additional NZ$398m in targeted university funding. Of this, NZ$213m will go towards a 3 per cent increase in the subsidies universities receive across the board.
The total also includes NZ$64m for places in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, teacher education and health studies.
The budget included NZ$23m to establish a gene technology regulator to oversee the operation of the government’s proposed, less restrictive, rules on gene technology. It also directed NZ$5.8m to the operations of the new Prime Minister’s Science, Innovation and Technology Advisory Council. Both amounts are being provided by cutting unspecified “existing funding”, Reti’s statement said.
Reti said the council will “advise the government on investment priorities and areas where funding can be better targeted”.