Regional R&D plan good for Northland - Wilson

David Wilson said it was good news for Northland that funding will be made available for between one and three "privately-led" regional institutes.

The region's economic development boss said he will be making a bid for a slice of $25 million funding for a Regional Research Institute to boost the region's primary industries.

David Wilson said yesterday's Budget 2015 announcement was good news for Northland with funding being made available for between one and three "privately-led" regional institutes over the next four to five years.

The Minister of Science and Innovation, Steven Joyce, said the 2016/17 funding would support "best case proposals" outside of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to "maximise the unique business, technology and economic growth opportunities in a region".

The institutes would focus on scientific research relevant to a particular region, with a strong emphasis on the transfer of research into new technologies, firms and products and services to create new jobs and lift incomes, Mr Joyce said.

He said institutes would be funded from a mixture of public and private sources and modelled along the lines of Nelson's Cawthron Institute.

Mr Wilson said Northland was ready as it was the first region to have its growth study completed and had a huge need for scientific research to carry its forestry, agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture industries forward.

The Tai Tokerau Northland Regional Growth Study had highlighted the need to build an innovation centre for dairy and primary industries.

Ben Smith of TS Farming in Hikurangi has already developed technology to turn dairy farm effluent into biogas energy and Mr Wilson said that the project was the kind of research that could lead to a regional institute.

However, it was too early to say if it would and he did not want to predetermine the outcome.

He said any successful institute needed to be privately led but required three elements for success - private sector input, good science and research and good governance.