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Joint Industry-Academic Funding

There is a spectrum of research funding available from the Foundation of Research Science and Technology (FoRST) ranging from industry driven through to university driven. In the industry driven funds such at TechNZ university researchers can be contracted to do research but the company retains ownership of IP. In university driven funds university retains the IP but the research is partnered or linked to industry.

Funding is also available to support undergraduate or postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows to conduct research and develop products within companies.

For information on all of these possibilities visit the FoRST website or contact the University of Otago Research and Enterprise Office.

TechNZ Funding

FoRST’s TechNZ programme provides funding to New Zealand businesses each year to develop new technology-based products, processes and services. It supports businesses to build skills and knowledge to carry out leading edge research and development, which could involve contracting expertise from the University of Otago.

Research Consortia

FoRST’s Research consortia are significant, longer-term research contracts between the government and partnerships, which could involve private companies, industry groups or entities that use research, and research organisations.

This scheme supports:

• basic-targeted, applied and development research, through to early prototype development
• the development of plans and market-needs analysis to assist with project selection and commercialisation, provided these are a minor proportion of the overall costs.

New Economy Research Fund (NERF)

FoRST’s NERF scheme is designed to support the development of new technology platforms to support the creation of new industries or sectors. Funding is for investigator-initiated, basic-targeted research that has the potential to create the advanced technological platforms that will underpin new and emerging industries.

Over the long term, research in this area should lead to commercial products, even though it may be difficult to quantify these at the outset.

Research for Industry funding

Research for Industry receives the majority of FoRST investment funding. It aims to increase the global competitiveness of New Zealand industries and sectors through supporting research that underpins the development of new products, processes and services of use to New Zealand industries and sectors. The investments are split into nine portfolios.