KEY POINTS:
The Government's Foundation for Research Science and Technology invested nearly $500 million in the year to last June, its latest annual report shows.
Crown research institutes got more than half the money. Their share totalled $257 million, private companies got $83 million and universities $55 million.
Industrial research was the biggest single category of investment, at $207.8 million, and environmental research was second at $96.2 million..
The foundation's group manager for investments, John Smart, said last year's funding built on previous years.
"Research is a long-term business so you don't have a good year and a bad year," he said.
The foundation used yardsticks such as new products, intellectual property, science quality and human development to measure the results of its investments.
"We see it as an investment in terms of the return New Zealand will get economically, socially or environmentally from research," he said.
"I think the early stage indicators have been reasonably stable but we are seeing more results, more things happening as a result of the research."
The Government was focusing more attention on the results, Smart said.
"We want good science but we also want to see that good science turned into something useful for the country."
The foundation's "technology for business growth" scheme, aimed at high margin technology development, was cited in the report as as a highlight of the year.
Investments in the scheme generated $7 million to $8 million from new products for every $1 million spent within 18 months of project completion.
The scheme provides up to half the funding for a project. About 180 applications, totalling $62.89 million, were approved last year.
"With companies matching the foundation investment, this scheme alone is a significant increase in the amount being spent on research and development," Smart said.
