Fewer Marsden Fund Grants After Government Cuts

Sunday, 7 September 2025, 3:57 pm
Article: RNZ

Mary Argue, Reporter

A major research fund has been forced to slash its grant allocation by more than $20 million next year, after government changes.

The Marsden Fund was among several research funds cut in Budget 2025, as part of science reforms.

Recently, it lost another $15m, which was to help set up the new Institute for Advanced Technology.

As a result, the Royal Society, which administers the Marsden Fund, said fewer grants would be allocated in 2026 from a pool of $55.8m.

Additionally, no Marsden Fund Council Award - a category opened in 2018 to support large interdisciplinary projects - would be offered in 2026.

Overall, its pool for new projects is down by about $24m - a drop from about $80m in available funding this year.

The Royal Society did not yet know how many grants would be awarded in 2026.

"This number will depend on several factors, which still need to be discussed by council.

"These are the major changes envisaged for 2026, subject to any further government direction."

Last year, a directive saw the fund abandon support for social sciences and humanities, and allocate at least half its funding to research with clear economic potential.

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