Latest news with #MarsdenFund
Scoop
06-08-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Further Cuts Fund New Tech Institute
Details of new changes to research funding under sweeping science sector reforms have been released today. The briefing confirms that set up of the NZ Institute for Advanced Technology will be paid for through reallocated science funding, including long-term reductions to specific public research funds such as the Marsden Fund and the Health Research Fund. These changes come on top of reprioritised research funding in the 2025 Budget being used to set up the three other Public Research Organisations, a new PM's Advisory Council, Invest NZ, and a new gene tech regulator. The SMC asked experts to comment. Previous expert comments on research funding in the 2025 Budget and the science system reforms are available on our website. Professor Nicola Gaston, Director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, comments: 'Despite the jazz hands in display around the announcement of the NZIAT (or Advanced Tech PRO), we knew it was not new money. The shock is not the reprioritisation from SSIF, Callaghan Innovation, or Endeavour grants for this — those mechanisms are reasonably well aligned with the purpose of the NZIAT, so not too big a deal on some level – aside from the longstanding critique that the system is already underfunded and the cost of the reforms themselves are absorbing research money etc. 'But the bigger picture here is the capture of the science system by politicians and by bureaucrats. The movement of funds from the Investigator-led Marsden Fund, in addition to previously announced cuts to the scheme, is absolutely an attack on fundamental research and on internationally-recognised research excellence. I am far from a critic of applied or mission-led research, and can see potential in the PRO reforms to create critical mass. But this is killing the goose that laid the golden egg and then boiling that egg in aqua regia. 'Impactful scientific research requires sustained scientific leadership, not politicians whose decisions about where and how to allocate funding seem to be driven primarily by the extent to which they get to take credit for the funding announcements.' Conflict of interest statement: Nicola Gaston receives funding from the Tertiary Education Commission as the Director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology. She also receives funding from the Marsden Fund. All research funding goes to the University of Auckland to pay the costs of the research she is employed to do. Dr James Hutchinson, CEO of KiwiNet, comments: 'If we want more economic growth from our science system, now is the time to invest in R&D – not cut it. The evidence is clear internationally: countries that lift R&D investment see faster productivity growth and stronger economies. 'We also need to invest in the commercialisation system that turns research into real-world impact. Currently, less than 1% of public science, innovation and technology funding supports this critical capability – the people and programmes that connect discoveries with industry and investors, and create new companies. 'To get the best return for taxpayers, we need a diverse 'garden' of research – from blue-skies to applied – coupled with stronger commercialisation pathways. That combination is what will grow the next generation of technologies, transform industries, and build a more prosperous future for Aotearoa.' Conflict of interest statement: KiwiNet is primarily funded by the Government through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Its shareholders are New Zealand universities and publicly funded research organisations. Professor Frédérique Vanholsbeeck, Te Whai Ao — Dodd-Walls Director, University of Auckland, comments: 'The NZ Institute for Advanced Technologies (NZIAT) is being set up to leverage Aotearoa successes in Deep tech, i.e. technologies that remain deeply connected to the fundamental science on which it is based. 'We applaud the creation of NZIAT to capitalize on our leadership and investment in fundamental research to date, but wouldn't want to see this at the expense of cuts to fundamental research funding. This would put NZ at risk of failing to deliver fresh innovation in 10-15 years when the fundamental research being worked on now, matures.' Conflict of interest statement: Frédérique Vanholsbeeck receives funding from the Tertiary Education Commission as the Director of Te Whai Ao — Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonics and Quantum Technologies. She also receives funding from the Marsden Fund and the MBIE Endeavour Fund. All research funding goes to the University of Auckland to pay the costs of the research she is employed to do. Professor Kelly Dombroski, President of the NZ Geographical Society, comments: 'For us in the NZ Geographical Society we see so much need for urgent research and innovation in the environment-society space (such as climate adaptation, circular economies, environmental protection). The Advanced Institute of Technology is unlikely to provide the leadership needed for research in that crucially underfunded space.' Conflict of interest statement: 'I receive funding from the Marsden fund, I have a Rutherford Fellowship, and I previously received funds from the National Science Challenges.' Distinguished Professor Dame Jane Harding DNZM FRACP FRSNZ, President of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, comments: 'Over the past 30 years the Marsden Fund has enabled New Zealand researchers to achieve some world-class breakthroughs, earn a reputation for excellence, and collaborate with top international scientists. The Fund invests in the kind of cutting-edge research that can generate paradigm-shifting advances to feed our innovation pipeline. The government's cuts to fundamental research are likely to have significant unintended consequences. They will undermine the long-term potential of the new Institute – and the broader science sector – to build on discoveries from early-stage research to grow our competitive advantage, solve complex challenges, and improve health, education, and our environment.' Conflicts of interest: None declared. Dr Troy Baisden, Co-President New Zealand Association of Scientist, Principal Investigator Te Pūnaha Matatini Centre of Research Excellence, and Affiliate with Motu Research, comments: 'The cuts from a number of areas to prop up what remains a ghost proposal for a virtual Advanced Technology Organisation are deeply disappointing because we're finding out they're not just eroding the foundations of our national research system – the plan is now the equivalent of selling the furniture and floorboards on TradeMe to scrape together a few quid, while leaving gaping holes in what the community of researcher has to work with. (Concerningly, the plan seems so shaky that the numbers don't even add up. I can see $144.7m in funding reallocations totalled as providing $150.4m in funds?) 'With these cuts added to new requirements to target difficult-to-assess economic benefits of proposals, bodies like Marsden and Health Research Council (HRC) risk becoming too small to maintain effective operations that can convincingly say they fund the best proposals through high quality competitive processes. There have been international warnings that the cost of preparing proposals can exceed the value of funding received and the scale of these cuts are almost certain to finish pushing us over the brink. The high quality processes will break down and become ever more of a lottery with funding rates well under 1 in 10 proposals submitted, yet with each credible proposal requiring months of work. 'The cuts to the Endeavour Fund present a more complicated case because this fund had often been funding research that should be enduring, rather than supported by discontinuous 5-year contracts. Examples include programmes on climate change and emissions, environmental monitoring of lakes, and sea level rise. The competitive rounds meant that many of the programmes were capped at about $2 million per year to remain fundable, even though delivering outcomes almost certainly would have benefited from more funding, as well as long-term continuity. The pause to Endeavour's proposal rounds, with extensions for suitable contracts, might have enabled some of these changes but the cuts will now make that very difficult. 'Funding for Strategic Science Investment Fund is the one place where there is long-term funding, but many of the areas funded have hardly had an increase with inflation in the last 20 years. Now some will face a large cut or elimination entirely, and we'll discover the hard way they were doing something important when it is no longer there for us. 'Sadly those most likely to discover that our foundations (and furniture, and floorboards) are disappearing may be international investors tempted to support science and innovation here. Unfortunately, they'll find that a starving innovation ecosystem with less public support to build their investments on than they could find in almost any other comparable country. They won't leave behind public warnings but will silently disappear. 'There is one hope however. Partly because the system has become so reliant on these competitive research funds, overheads have become internationally anomalous. Any obvious anomaly can be fixed, but only if the willpower exists to do it. Overheads means that for every dollar spend on salary support for researchers in universities more than two dollars go to support the university's operations. The same calculations become roughly four times salary in Crown Research Institutes, recently amalgamated into fewer institutions. Thus our research overheads sit at 200-400%, with more money going to support our institutions than the research projects that are funded. In Europe the norm is 25%, and in the United States, Trump has tried to bring the cap down to 15%. 'Testifying to a Parliamentary select committee this year, the then CE of GNS Science suggested that having scientists charge out at the same rate as lawyers, or over $400 per hour, should be normalised. I question whether she or the government want to see that proposition tested as an election issue. 'There is another way. If the government is able to find funds to support institutions and reduce the competition that has blown out the overheads supporting institutions, they could cap overheads. Then the reduced funding Marsden, Health Research Council, Strategic Science Investment Fund, etc will go further and contribute to a more stable research system. 'At present, there's no indication that massively reduced overheads from competition will be achieved and we're left watching the furniture and floorbaards go on out the door as an answer to the most often asked question about our research system's reforms: are we rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic or playing musical chairs? 'We are doing both.'
Scoop
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Whāia Te Taniwha, A New Exhibition At Christchurch Art Gallery, Explores The Enduring Presence Of Taniwha In Aotearoa
Opening 20 September, this exhibition of work by Māori artists offers a window into the rich narratives of taniwha that tāngata whenua have held for generations. Co-curator Chloe Cull says that while many people in Aotearoa are familiar with the idea of taniwha, post-colonial, Western representations of taniwha have often been one-dimensional or inaccurate. 'This exhibition celebrates the diversity of taniwha. They are shapeshifters, oceanic guides, leaders, adversaries, guardians and tricksters who have left their marks on the Aotearoa landscape. ' Whāia te Taniwha also responds to the impact of colonisation on Māori knowledge systems by celebrating the deep and varied presence of taniwha within te ao Māori,' says Cull. The exhibition includes new major commissions from renowned Aotearoa artists such as Lisa Reihana and Maungarongo Te Kawa. Ngāi Tahu artists will also be well represented in the exhibition, with new work being developed by Jennifer Rendall, Fran Spencer, Kommi Tamati-Elliffe, Turumeke Harrington, Piri Cowie and Madison Kelly. These new works will be shown alongside existing works on loan to the Gallery. 'With the bulk of the exhibition comprising new commissions and loans, it'll be the first opportunity to see many of these works in Christchurch,' says Cull. The exhibition was inspired by Taniwha: A cultural history – a Marsden Fund supported research project by exhibition co-curators Dr Kirsty Dunn and Dr Madi Williams. Dunn explains that the inability to categorise or define taniwha are part of their enduring power. 'Many of the artists consider how ancestral knowledge within taniwha narratives provide potential pathways through contemporary challenges; these pathways are powerful, sometimes playful, sometimes confronting, and sometimes they reveal themselves in unexpected ways. Audiences might have some of their expectations challenged in this exhibition.' For those who enjoy interactive experiences, there will be a few things on offer – including an augmented reality sculpture and a video game that invites players to search for items that can uplift the wellbeing of a taniwha. Williams adds, 'Just as taniwha take many shapes and forms, the exhibition includes a multitude of disciplines – from painting and sculpture to textiles, video poetry and photography. 'Visitors will be invited to consider who, rather than what, taniwha are – and how taniwha stories can help us understand and navigate the world around us.' Whāia te Taniwha opens Saturday 20 September 2025 and closes on 15 February 2026.
Scoop
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
20 September 2025 To 15 February 2026
Whāia te Taniwha, a new major exhibition at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, explores the enduring presence of taniwha in Aotearoa. Opening 20 September, this exhibition of work by Māori artists offers a window into the rich narratives of taniwha that tāngata whenua have held for generations. Co-curator Chloe Cull says that while many people in Aotearoa are familiar with the idea of taniwha, post-colonial, Western representations of taniwha have often been one-dimensional or inaccurate. 'This exhibition celebrates the diversity of taniwha. They are shapeshifters, oceanic guides, leaders, adversaries, guardians and tricksters who have left their marks on the Aotearoa landscape. ' Whāia te Taniwha also responds to the impact of colonisation on Māori knowledge systems by celebrating the deep and varied presence of taniwha within te ao Māori,' says Cull. The exhibition includes new major commissions from renowned Aotearoa artists such as Lisa Reihana and Maungarongo Te Kawa. Ngāi Tahu artists will also be well represented in the exhibition, with new work being developed by Jennifer Rendall, Fran Spencer, Kommi Tamati-Elliffe, Turumeke Harrington, Piri Cowie and Madison Kelly. These new works will be shown alongside existing works on loan to the Gallery. 'With the bulk of the exhibition comprising new commissions and loans, it'll be the first opportunity to see many of these works in Christchurch,' says Cull. The exhibition was inspired by Taniwha: A cultural history – a Marsden Fund supported research project by exhibition co-curators Dr Kirsty Dunn and Dr Madi Williams. Dunn explains that the inability to categorise or define taniwha are part of their enduring power. 'Many of the artists consider how ancestral knowledge within taniwha narratives provide potential pathways through contemporary challenges; these pathways are powerful, sometimes playful, sometimes confronting, and sometimes they reveal themselves in unexpected ways. Audiences might have some of their expectations challenged in this exhibition.' For those who enjoy interactive experiences, there will be a few things on offer – including an augmented reality sculpture and a video game that invites players to search for items that can uplift the wellbeing of a taniwha. Williams adds, 'Just as taniwha take many shapes and forms, the exhibition includes a multitude of disciplines – from painting and sculpture to textiles, video poetry and photography. 'Visitors will be invited to consider who, rather than what, taniwha are – and how taniwha stories can help us understand and navigate the world around us.' Whāia te Taniwha opens Saturday 20 September 2025 and closes on 15 February 2026.
RNZ News
28-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Science sector faces biggest overhaul in decades, warns cuts will put new research at risk
[xh ]Science cuts could come at the cost of new and research, sector warns Samples at an Auckland laboratory. Photo: Nick Monro / RNZ The administrators of a leading science fund fear cuts as part of the sector's biggest overhaul in decades could come at the cost of new and innovative research. Budget 2025 allocated just over $813 million for business, science and innovation. Almost three quarters of that, nearly $577m, was dedicated to rebates for international filmmakers, leaving about $236m for science and innovation. The budget funded major science reform through the reallocation of money from funds dedicated to research and innovation, with much of the $212m repurposed for new government initiatives. The Science Minister said the reprioritisation of funds would help unleash the long-term potential of the new science system. However, administrators of the blue-skies research Marsden Fund are worried cuts will curb innovation and evidence-based solutions at a time when they are needed most. Much of the $212m reallocated from research and innovation funds such as the Health Research Council, Marsden Fund and Strategic Science Investment Fund, would help set up an office to oversee changing gene technology rules as well as an agency to attract foreign investors. Eighty-four million dollars of repurposed funds were slated for Invest New Zealand over four years and close to $23m to establish a new Gene Technology Regulator over the same period, while the merging of Crown Research Institutes into three of the four new public research organisations was allocated $20m over two years. Money found in the disestablishment of Callaghan Innovation would contribute to the new science landscape. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King Money found in the disestablishment of Callaghan Innovation would also contribute to the new science landscape, such as the formation of the Science, Innovation, and Technology Advisory Council - nearing $6m over five years. However, $38m of reallocated money was set aside for Callaghan Innovation's shutdown, with another $20m to keep its Gracefield Quarter running for another year, while the government decided its future. The chair of the Marsden Fund Council, Professor Gill Dobbie, said Budget 2025 resulted in a $5m funding cut over three years, and suspected that would come at the cost of new research projects. The 30-year-old fund, established to support excellent fundamental and blue-skies research, was allocated just under $79m in the 2025/2026 financial year. The Science Minister's office confirmed that funding for Marsden would be cut in stages over the next couple of years, with a new baseline funding of $71m from 2028/29. For the 2025 funding round, the Marsden Fund Council anticipated just over 100 projects - from a total of 978 proposals - would receive grants from about $80m in available funding. Science Minister Shane Reti. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Projects typically received funding for three years of research, Dobbie said, therefore already contracted researchers would be prioritised when the cuts came in. "There likely will be a reduction in [the] number of new grants we can award each year from 2026/27," she said. "The Marsden Fund Council will review the amount committed through existing research contracts and then determine the number of new grants that can be awarded." In a post-budget statement, the fund's administer, the Royal Society of New Zealand, said the budget cuts came at a time when New Zealand needed "innovation, critical thinking, and evidence-based solutions more than ever" and followed changes to the Marsden Fund last year, that saw support for social sciences and humanities research dropped, and an increased focus on research with the potential for economic benefit. Royal Society chief executive Paul Atkins expressed concern that funding cuts would "effectively reduce the amount available for active research projects". "The capability of our research sector has taken years to build up, and we risk losing talented, knowledgeable, and highly skilled experts." Meanwhile, the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) has cancelled the 2026 funding round for its contestable Endeavour Fund to focus on the merger of Crown Research Institutes into new mega science entities. The $55m Endeavour Fund supported research via Smart Ideas - designed to be fast-fail - and longer-term research programmes of up to five years. MBIE said there was precedent to pause contestable funding rounds during a shake-up to reduce the burden on staff. It said the funding for 2026 would instead be directed to current research projects that would otherwise end. "We expect that a contestable round will be undertaken in 2027 subject to further work as part of the science reforms." Technology used to assess the characteristics of fruit. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life Science Minister Shane Reti said the reallocated funding would ultimately benefit the system and create more opportunites for research and innovation. He said funding for science, innovation and technology was in line with Budget 2025's approach to economic and fiscal management. "The government has reprioritised funding for initiatives we need to unleash the potential of our science system in the long term - providing for a modern gene technology regime and fundamental changes to New Zealand's science, technology and innovation system, including new public research organisations and a forward-looking science council." Science, innovation and tech start-ups would also benefit, he said, from the government's $100m budget boost to Elevate NZ Venture Funding and an increase to the R&D tax incentive. "I see these as long-term investments that will over time create even more opportunities for world-leading research and innovation that leads to better outcomes for New Zealanders and our economy." Regarding the Endeavour Fund, he said it had not been suspended. "Any speculation about the future of the Endeavour Fund is just that - speculation. Changes to future funding rounds would likely be subject to Budget decisions." 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Scoop
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Govt Driving Away Kiwi Innovators And Scientists
Press Release – New Zealand Labour Party Nationals decision to cut Callaghan Innovation has lost the country at least 60 skilled science jobs, meaning the expertise to commercialise great New Zealand innovations has evaporated. The Government continues to obliterate science and innovation in New Zealand. 'New Zealand's world leading crown research institutes are being left to dwindle, and New Zealand's best scientists are losing their jobs and leaving the country,' Labour science and innovation spokesperson Reuben Davidson said. 'National's decision to cut Callaghan Innovation has lost the country at least 60 skilled science jobs, meaning the expertise to commercialise great New Zealand innovations has evaporated. 'GNS Science has axed nearly 10 percent of its workforce, despite its important work on seismic and climate research. ESR – the Institute of Environmental Science and Research – slashing eight percent of its workforce because of government cuts. NIWA was also proposing 13 percent of its workforce would have to go. 'Cuts to the Marsden Fund, which supports important research at universities, will mean less research in public health, nursing, law, education, Māori studies, and public policy. 'The Government has also closed the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund and replaced it with a new, smaller fund, and decided not to award new funding through the Endeavour Fund in 2026. 'They've taken a total of $90 million out of grants and funds in Budget 2025. This is incredibly short-sighted, and gambles with New Zealand's technology future. 'National is happy to turn up to events like the Hi-Tech awards and congratulate winners when the cameras are rolling in Budget week, but behind the scenes they are cutting the funding that got lots of our best innovators there,' Reuben Davidson said.
