Three-year threshold to results

By Yoke Har Lee

The New Economy Research Fund is expected to start showing results in its third year of running, says Dr Paul Reynolds, the chief policy adviser to the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology.

The fund was announced in August as part of the Government's Bright Future plan to develop research which might lead to new industries.

Asked about the need to have a fund for this purpose, Dr Reynolds said: "In saying these are [the ideas] being funded, we explicitly are saying these are going to contribute to the future of New Zealand ...

"Existing industries are working assiduously to add value, but for them to be truly successful in the next 100 years, they have to do different things, as well as improving what they do now."

Developing in new directions was well established in other economies, based on the kind of clustering activities that have sprung up around American and British universities, like Stanford in Palo Alto, or Cambridge's Trinity College.

The ministry has listed businesses covering the new economy as biological products, information and telecommunications technology, advanced materials and medical and laboratory equipment.

It said on its web site: "What makes these different from current business is that they break the mould.

"They don't merely extend products or services. They create entirely new markets for new types of products."