New Zealand’s entrepreneurs, innovators and crown researchers will benefit from a $401.3 million funding boost through Budget 2020 and the COVID Response and Recovery Fund to help deliver jobs and a stronger economy in a post-COVID world, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Megan Woods said.
“Without new ideas and innovation we risk missing out to the rest of the world as we all look at how to rebuild our economies.”
“Our research, science and innovation system supports New Zealand by providing well paid and secure jobs, high value products and helping productivity growth – all of which will be vital as we look toward economic recovery in the aftermath of COVID.
“COVID has created a global economic crisis and while New Zealand is in a much better place than others to weather this and recover, we also need to make smart choices about what we want that recovery to look like. This funding will help secure and create jobs for New Zealanders.
“$150 million is being invested into a short-term R&D Loan Scheme so businesses can continue to invest in R&D from the COVID Response and Recovery Fund, a key component in creating jobs and growing the economy. The loans provide an immediate source of finance to R&D-performing businesses to enable them to maintain their R&D programmes and secure the jobs the programmes bring.
The R&D Loan Scheme will help ensure business feel confident to keep investment up in uncertain times.”
The funding package also includes $196 million from both Budget 2020 and the COVID Response and Recovery Fund to set up our Crown Research Institutions for success, so they can retain talent and continue their important research.
“Crown research institutes’ critical science capability is an integral part of New Zealand’s response to COVID-19 and our economic recovery.
A $33 million investment from Budget 2020 will support Māori to partner with MBIE and co-design a fund to enable Māori to determine, and make further investments in their research, science and innovation priorities.
$12 million from Budget 2020 is allocated to the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ly Significant Collections and Databases, to support custodianship of collections and databases determined to be important to New Zealand.
A further $10 million from the COVID Response and Recovery Fund has been allocated to assist Callaghan Innovation to maintain in-house R&D capability to serve New Zealand businesses, particularly early stage R&D intensive companies that are disproportionally affected by COVID-19.
