NZBIO Urges Government to Include Innovative SMES

NZBIO Urges Government to Include Innovative SMES

$225 million of new funding to help strengthen the New Zealand economy has been announced as part of the Government’s 2010 Budget. Of the total of $321 million for new initiatives over the next four years $225 million is new funding and $96 million is reprioritized funding.

“Overall this funding is about increasing effectiveness of technology transfer and improving New Zealand’s business R&D to drive economic growth,” NZBIO Chief Executive Bronwyn Dilley says.

A major component of the funding increase is a $234 million boost for support for business research and development over four years.

“Today’s announcement reflects several recommendations made in the 2009 Bioeconomy Industry Summit Report. Driving Economic Growth through Bio-Based Industries: The 2009 Bioeconomy Industry Summit Report highlighted six key actions that could be undertaken to develop a stronger and more vibrant bioeconomy in New Zealand.

“Recommended actions included streamlining Government investment in RS&T to provide access to and understanding of available schemes, continuing support for industry partnerships, incentives for graduates to remain in New Zealand and for leading offshore New Zealanders to return home, upgrading infrastructure and providing active support for interaction of technology developers with end users.

“NZBIO is pleased to see several of these recommendations addressed which confirm a number of positive and practical steps are being taken to support science and innovation in New Zealand.

“One potential concern is that the largest of the new measures is an investment of $189.5 million over four years to create a new type of R&D grant targeted at medium to large research intensive firms. With New Zealand’s predominantly SME economy and a focus on improving tech transfer new enterprises will be created. NZBIO and its members look forward to seeing the Government’s strategy for supporting these small, innovative companies.

“Major contributors to New Zealand’s science and innovation industries are often small to medium sized enterprises. It would severely impact their ability to contribute to New Zealand’s economy if these companies are ineligible for the benefits targeted at larger organisations.

“This is a period of significant change and positive growth for New Zealand’s innovative ecosystem. Recently we have seen the CRI Taskforce Report and the Government’s response to that, the Capital Markets Development Taskforce Report and the announcement of the merger of MoRST and FRST.

“Today’s announcement confirms that the Government is taking investment in science seriously, which will be for the long term benefit of the New Zealand economy and its people.”

Initiatives referred to include:

• $189.5 million over four years for technology development grants to support R&D in businesses that already do significant amounts of R&D
• $20 million over four years to trial technology transfer vouchers, which will encourage links between companies and publicly-funded research organisations
• $11 million over four years to support technology transfer from research organisations to businesses and commercialisation of new products and processes
• $13.7 million over four years in contingency funding for initiatives to improve the transfer of technology from research organisations to the private sector
• $25 million over four years for the Rutherford Discovery Fellowships which will support early to mid-career researchers
• $9 million over three years, starting in 2011/12 to attract top science entrepreneurial talent to New Zealand
• $44.3 million over four years in contingency funding for proposed large-scale science infrastructure, subject to Cabinet approval.

ENDS

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