Science policy high on NZ’s innovation agenda

Commercialising R&D for wood products from around the globe will be a major focus for the Wood Innovations 2012 event running in both New Zealand and Australia in mid-October. It was also a big week last week for NZ science in the policy sphere, with a number of important announcements drawing attention to the government's focus on innovation.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment announced the recipients of the 2012 Science-led Contestable Investment Round. A total of NZ$133 million in new research grants has been be awarded to 47 research projects in the biological industries; energy and minerals; the environment; hazards and infrastructure; and health and society funding categories.

Absent from the announced recipients were projects falling under the category of High-Value Manufacturing, which will be announced in the next few weeks. High-value Manufacturing will be the focus of the new Advanced Technology Institute - or, as it will now be known, The Callaghan Institute, in honour of the late Sir Paul Callaghan.

The announcement that the institute was to be named after the late Sir Paul Callaghan was made by Steven Joyce at a business breakfast held for the release of the Building Innovation report, which outlines the progress and details of over 50 government innovation initiatives. The report is the second in a series of six progress reports released under the Government's Business Growth Agenda.

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