Cawthron Institute Cautious Welcome to CRI Taskforce Report

New Zealand’s leading independent research organisation is cautiously welcoming a report recommending changes to the way Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) are funded.

Currently CRI’s have to compete for much of their funding, which the report by the Crown Research Institute Taskforce says creates too much uncertainty, and makes them vulnerable as businesses.

Cawthron Institute CEO and chair of the Independent Research Association of New Zealand (IRANZ), Gillian Wratt, says that’s something the Nelson-based organisation knows only too well given they have to fight for every dollar they get to fund their internationally recognised aquaculture and environmental research.

“We shouldn’t forget issues around security of funding and resourcing funding bids to maintain long term capabilities are not unique to CRIs and we wouldn’t want to see changes recommended by this taskforce moving the goalposts in such a way as to disadvantage research institutes that are not government owned.”

Cawthron is pleased to see the report recognise the value of science to the economy and identify ways to deliver better outputs for New Zealand.

But, at the same time, Gillian Wratt says there is a need to acknowledge that other players are also making a valuable contribution, and ensure the recommended changes do not negatively impact on them.

The report does acknowledge any potential changes in funding shouldn’t place other research institutions at a disadvantage, and Gillian Wratt says it is important for New Zealand that the Government ensures that is in fact the case.

“It appears obvious that increasing overall funding to the CRI’s in the long term risks reducing the pot the rest of us currently have access to. If that happens there need to be some mechanisms in place to ensure other research organisations are not disadvantaged.”

“While in theory that may be offset, at least in part, by a requirement in the report for CRI’s to more openly collaborate with other research organisations, there is a question mark over how that might actually work.”

Cawthron accepts government has a responsibility to ensure its own institutes are able to fulfil their core functions to do research for the good of New Zealand.

“The danger is that if we remove the amount of dollars available generally to prop up one part of the sector to the point where there is less money for others, there is a risk other providers are lost from the system, which nearly happened in the old days of the DSIR. That very nearly put Cawthron out of business in the 1980s.”

“We are saying that there are core capabilities and long term strategic research programmes in other parts of the science sector - Cawthron examples include seafood safety, shellfish aquaculture production, our algal collection and our environmental research capability – that are important for the long term future of New Zealand.”

ENDS

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