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Pre-Budget Announcement: Boost for Business-led R&D

 

Prime Minister John Key announced this morning a $234m boost for business-led R&D over four years, signalling how important research, science and technology is to this Government and its desire to build economic wealth.

 

The key points are:

 

• $189.5m (ex GST) over four years for technology development grants to support R&D in firms who have a history of substantial, successful R&D. This is in addition to the existing TechNZ project funding.

 

• $20m (ex GST) over four years to trial technology transfer vouchers, which will encourage links between firms and publicly-funded research organisations (NB. the vouchers will be piloted for two years and then re-evaluated).

 

• $11m (ex GST) over four years to facilitate the creation of a network of national commercialisation centres to bring together university and CRI commercialisation and technology transfer offices to improve coordination and efficiency. The next step in this process will be the release of a Request for Proposals in September to seek proposals to establish the network.

 

• $13.7m (ex GST) over four years in contingency funding to improve the transfer of technology from research organisations to firms.

 

The new initiatives will complement the existing TechNZ business programme, and existing contracts will be managed as usual.

 

The new department to be formed from the merger of the Foundation and the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology will provide the front door for the new initiatives.

 

The Foundation will be launching the first two initiatives in the last quarter of 2010.

 

To read the Prime Minister's full media release, click here.

Copyright Enterprising Manukau 2009