R&D and innovation news: $255.6 m boost for science and innovation

​Through Budget 2017, the Government will invest a further $255.6 million in a mixture of new and existing science and innovation initiatives over the next four years to drive excellent, high-impact science and increased international connectivity.

The initiatives include:

• $21 million for Antarctic Science which will provide a stable funding platform for strategic, underpinning Antarctic research
• $19.5 million to enhance New Zealand’s earthquake, tsunami and volcano monitoring capability
• An additional $81.9 million for the Endeavour Fund to grow the amount of excellent research with the potential for long-term, transformative impact
• $6 million for the expansion of the Innovative Partnerships Programme to attract multinational companies to New Zealand to undertake R&D activity
• A further $74.6 million to meet the rising demand for Callaghan Innovation’s business R&D Growth Grants
• An increase of $52.5 million for high-performing research-based institutions through the Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF). While the PBRF is a Tertiary Education initiative, it counts towards the Government’s overall Science and Innovation investment.