Readers of David Farrar’s Kiwiblog will have noted he has been railing in recent weeks against the Royal Society of New Zealand’s management of the Marsden Fund and the demotion of “science” in its priorities when deciding which projects are most deserving of funding.
His articles have been posted under headlines such as….
How the Royal Society abandoned science funding
The latest Marsden Fund spending
Marsden Fund goes even more woke
Today the headline on a Kiwiblog post is Marsden Fund dewoked.
The “dewoking” is the work of Science Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins, who has announced the Government has updated the Marsden Fund to focus on core scientific research that helps lift our economic growth and contributes to science with a purpose.
“The Government has been clear in its mandate to rebuild our economy. We are focused on a system that supports growth, and a science sector that drives high-tech, high-productivity, high-value businesses and jobs,” Ms Collins says
“I have updated the Marsden Fund Investment Plan and Terms of Reference to ensure that future funding is going to science that helps to meet this goal.”
The new Investment Plan focuses on supporting research that can be of economic, environmental or health benefit to New Zealand. The new Terms of Reference outline that approximately 50 per cent of funds will go towards supporting proposals with economic benefits to New Zealand.
“The Marsden Fund will continue to support blue-skies research, the type that advances new ideas and encourages innovation and creativity and where the benefit may not be immediately apparent. It is important that we support new ideas which lead to developing new technologies and products, boosting economic growth, and enhancing New Zealand’s quality of life,” Ms Collins says.
“The focus of the Fund will shift to core science, with the humanities and social sciences panels disbanded and no longer supported. Real impact on our economy will come from areas such as physics, chemistry, maths, engineering and biomedical sciences.
“The Marsden Fund will continue to support excellent researchers in New Zealand, who are looking to create a better country for us all.”
The Marsden Fund Investment Plan and Terms of Reference will apply to projects funded from the 2025 round of the Fund.
Judith Collins also announced an updated plan for the Catalyst Fund to be focused on clear outcomes and priority research areas.
“We are taking a more strategic approach to science funding across the board, as we seek to deliver greater economic impact for New Zealand,” Ms Collins says.
“New Zealanders expect to see publicly funded research delivering clear benefits, which is why I am refocusing our science funding to concentrate on backing science with a purpose.
“The Catalyst Fund is the Government’s key lever to support science, innovation and technology activities that foster international collaboration for New Zealand’s benefit. We can achieve faster and better-quality results that have greater impact by connecting with our international community.
“The new plan focuses our funding on clear growth areas of quantum technology, health, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, space, and Antarctic research,” Ms Collins says.
“All proposals must demonstrate high-impact research of relevance and importance to New Zealand. This will guide our investment in emerging international science opportunities, to ensure it delivers impact for New Zealand.
“Through the Catalyst Fund, we will also be looking for international collaboration opportunities that will create pathways for commercialisation of innovative technologies, enable New Zealand to contribute to global science challenges, and support the domestic development of robust and sustainable research ecosystems in priority areas.”
The Catalyst Fund Investment Plan can be found on the MBIE website.
Reacting to these announcements, David Farrar enthused:
This is a great and badly needed decision. I have covered many times how a growing proportion of the Marsden Fund was going on identity politics research, wokeism and social sciences.
A focus on core science is desperately needed. Now we just need to make sure that those deciding on the applications are not the usual suspects.
Sources: Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology and Kiwiblog
