Budget 2011: It’s cuts and a rebrand for research and development

UPDATED: The Prime Minister's Science Adviser Sir Peter Gluckman said the funding freeze was understandable, and major changes in output classes were part of a broader restructuring of the science sector.

"I don't think the science community expected anything more in the budget this year, for obvious reasons," Sir Peter said.

Wholesale cuts in specific and rigidly-defined research classes like genomics and mining, in favour of a more focussed "CRI Core Funding" line, was welcomed.

"I've been a strong advocate that we need a New Zealand Inc approach to science. We can't pretend we're a giant country trying to do all things, we have got to focus," Sir Peter said.

Restructuring of the sector by merging the Foundation and Ministries of Research, Science and Technology into the Ministry for Science and Innovation was still in progress and the sector was yet to take its final shape.

"There are considerable costs there in sorting out the merger, and a bit more consolidation is needed for the next stage."

Government spending on research and development is facing modest overall cuts and a rebrand, according to Finance Minister Bill English’s budget announcement today.

Total funding for the portfolio will drop $13.9 million to $773.7 million following the merger of the Ministry and Foundation of Research, Science and Technology as the Ministry of Science and Innovation on February 1.

The budget collapses many industry-specific grants into a general pool for Crown Research Institutes as part of reforms in the sector.

The main cuts in the portfolio include a slashing of funding for genomics research (from $16.2m to $5.6m), the death of the $60.1 million CRI Capability Fund, and grants for science infrastructure reduced from $22.4m to $4.7m.

CRI funding also appears to have become less rigidly defined, with a new broad “CRI Core Funding” budget line of $215.1m taking up some of the slack from cuts to other budget areas.

The budget briefing today also included an announced from Minister for Science and Innovation Dr Wayne Mapp that $36 million, spread over four years, would be spent on earthquake research and the commercialisation of business research and development.

Dr Mapp did not address the slight reduction in his newly named portfolio’s funding, but rather emphasised the four-year $58.5 million annual boost announced for the sector in 2010.