Priority-oriented research ‘should not replace funding competitions’

Submission to review of New Zealand’s R&D funding system calls for balance, not replacement

Reforms to New Zealand’s science funding system should not undermine existing processes, researchers have said.

A submission from Science for Technological Innovation, one of 11 government-funded National Science Challenges aimed at developing partnerships to tackle specific science-based issues, says that priority-oriented research “should balance, not replace, existing funding competitions”. It suggests using its own “mission-lab and mission-design” process to select priorities.