PCE letters to Minister Reti on environmental research prioritisation and funding

Ahead of upcoming decisions on research funding and prioritisation, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has written to Minister Reti to express concern about the current approach to prioritising environmental research in New Zealand, using the low success rate of the Endeavour Fund (12.3%) to illustrate his point.

The Commissioner stresses the need for a clear, long-term framework for environmental research prioritisation and urges the Government to ensure that new funding arrangements maintain and enhance environmental research capability. Following the announcement of the establishment of Research Funding New Zealand, the Commissioner provided some further considerations as the reform progresses.