$20m a year more for business R&D

A re-elected National Government will invest $20 million a year more in business R&D co-funding through Callaghan Innovation to further lift funding towards the new Business Growth Agenda target of 1 per cent of GDP by 2018, National Party Science and Innovation Spokesman Steven Joyce says.

"Under National we have seen big growth in the number of innovative hi-tech companies investing heavily in R&D to create more unique products and services that are in demand on the world stage,” Mr Joyce says.

"We have seen a 25 per cent lift in business R&D activity in just two years, and this latest increase in funding will help lift it again, in a fiscally responsible way.”

The new funding will lift annual amounts available to Callaghan Innovation to incentivise Business R&D from $142 million to $162 million (a 14 per cent increase), and it will translate to a $100 million a year increase in total business R&D investment at the Callaghan Innovation R&D Growth Grant subsidy rate of 20 per cent.

"Lifting business R&D support through Callaghan Innovation's comprehensive suite of research services, advice, and grants co-funding, is one of the hallmarks of this Government's Business Growth Agenda,” Mr Joyce says. "It is a key part of our overall cross-government science and innovation investment, which has grown by more than 70 per cent over the last six years to a projected $1.5 billion a year in 2015/16.”

Other initiatives in National's Science and Innovation Policy include:
• Investigating the development of up to three new private sector Regional Science Institutes similar to Nelson's Cawthron Institute, and Wellington's Mallaghan Institute.
• Completing the rollout of the eleven National Science Challenges to tackle the biggest science-based issues facing New Zealand.
• Further boosting primary sector R&D by establishing a Food Safety Science and Research Centre.
• Setting up four new Centres of Research Excellence at New Zealand universities.
• Implementing the Science in Society project to encourage school students in study science, technology, engineering and maths.
• Finalising the National Statement of Science Investments to help guide our next investments in Research and Development as we look to achieve our Government R&D target of 0.8 per cent of GDP over time.

“National has an excellent track record on science and innovation,” Mr Joyce says.
“Through the toughest of times we have significantly increased New Zealand's expenditure in this area.

“Science and innovation is an investment in New Zealand's future and National will remain focused on both making that investment directly and encouraging private sector investment, on behalf of all New Zealanders.”

National’s Science and Innovation Policy is available at:http://ntnl.org.nz/1qxr0Gp

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