The Government’s has published four Pillar Investment Plans that will guide science investment, including health research funding, for the next five years.

The Pillar Investment Plans have been developed by Research Funding New Zealand with input from across industry, science, commercialisation, the Māori economy and government agencies. They come into effect immediately and will guide science investment across four pillars:

• Primary Industries and the Bioeconomy
• Technology for Prosperity
• Environmental Sustainability and Resilience
• Healthy People and a Thriving Society.

The full Pillar Investment Plans and one-page summaries for each pillar are available on the MBIE website.

All public science, innovation and technology investments are expected to align with the priorities, outcomes, objectives and investment intentions outlined in the relevant Pillar Investment Plans. The HRC is working on how we achieve this alignment for current and future funding rounds and will provide updates as this work progresses.

Similarly, Research Funding New Zealand will use the priorities and investment signals set out in the Pillar Investment Plans to inform funding decisions for the Transition Research Fund.

We encourage researchers to familiarise themselves with the Pillar Investment Plans, particularly the priorities outlined in the Healthy People and a Thriving Society pillar and the Technology for Prosperity pillar.