Anthony Doesburg: Work needed to lift innovation, says Minister

He's not a scientist - although he did a few science papers at university - but the Minister of Research, Science and Technology, Dr Wayne Mapp, professes a long-held interest in the area.

Commercial law, including lecturing on the subject at the University of Auckland, was Mapp's meal ticket before he became the MP for North Shore in 1996. Since he was handed the science portfolio in November he's been busy schooling himself on its intricacies.

"The area is complex, demanding and hugely important for the long-term development of New Zealand," says Mapp, who has been reading widely and speaking to people in the field.

The document that has had the biggest impact on him is a 2007 OECD review of innovation in New Zealand. At the time of its release, Science Minister Steve Maharey called it a "largely positive snapshot of our innovation policies". But Mapp sees it differently.

"The OECD review was quite emphatic that our system is fragmented, overly bureaucratic and, partly because of that, we don't necessarily have a clear enough sense of what our objectives are," he says.

All up, about $1 billion a year of taxpayers' money is spent on research, science and technology. Some of that is through the ministries of Economic Development and Education.

Mapp's portion, more than $500 million, is allocated by FoRST, the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, under the policy guidance of MoRST, the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology.

The lion's share - about $300 million - goes to the country's eight Crown research institutes; universities get about $70 million and a further $60 million or so is divided among the private sector, research consortiums and others.

FoRST allocates a separate sum - about $46 million in the present Budget - through Technology New Zealand to private sector research and development.

In its briefing document to the new minister, FoRST asserted the cost of running the foundation, at 3.5 per cent of the sum it invests in research, was "at the low end of the range" for comparable local and overseas agencies.

That may be so, says Mapp, but it doesn't tell the whole story.

"FoRST itself is a relatively lean machine - although I'm sure it can be improved.

"But I think we've ended up with a lot of costs and it's a universal concern, I can tell you, from the people I've spoken to.

"We've loaded a lot of costs on to those who actually do the science."

He says the crux of the problem is that, compared with other countries, a high proportion of funding is allocated competitively, which imposes a great deal of work on applicants.

"FoRST is aware of all of this. They've gone through the 2007 review intimately. In their annual reports they say they're working to streamline the system."

Another point brought up in the OECD review was the already well-known lack of private sector research and development investment.

The previous Government's response was to introduce a 15 per cent R&D tax credit, which was subsequently scrapped by the National-led regime.

"Why did we say no to the R&D tax credit? Largely because it's a fairly blunt tool to boost expenditure."

Mapp says there would undoubtedly have been some increased research spending, but there would also have been businesses that merely reclassified existing spending to exploit the tax credit.

"Accountants were telling us that."

Despite the fact that the National-led Government depends on support from the Act Party, whose leader Rodney Hide is a climate-change sceptic, Mapp says it won't be calling a halt to climate-change research, which is absorbing about $70 million a year of FoRST funding.

"One of the things we've said is we're going to establish an international centre for research around agricultural emissions as they affect climate. It's important that New Zealand focuses on things that affect us directly and clearly agricultural emissions is a significant issue in New Zealand. Where better to build that scientific expertise?"

The OECD review may be Mapp's main guide for changing the research sector, but he also acknowledges the positive points it noted.

"They also praised the quality of research done in New Zealand. They talked about the research culture that does exist in New Zealand."

A key figure in bringing that about will be a chief science adviser to the Prime Minister, a new position committed to during the election campaign.

Mapp says the role, and possible appointees, are still being worked out but "with some urgency".

Business R&D

New Zealand business spending on R&D is only a third of the OECD average, found the OECD's 2007 review of innovation in this country. Suggested reasons for that difference included: the country's industrial structure; a lack of external funding; barriers to the growth of R&D-intensive industries; lack of motivation and a shortage of management resources and personnel.

Anthony Doesburg is an Auckland-based technology journalist.