The New Zealand government has launched two new grants for innovation-hungry companies, valued at $250 million over the next four years, the minister for research, science and innovation Dr Megan Woods announced today.
Administered by Crown entity Callaghan Innovation, the Ārohia the Innovation Trailblazer grant aims to help with costs of activities not considered to be research and development.
Instead, the Ārohia the Innovation Trailblazer is targeted at businesses that pursue opportunities that will generate signficant spill-over benefits for the wider economy.
To be eligible for that grant, businesses will need to come up with innovation that's not only new to the world, but has the potential to make a signficant difference to the innnovation landscape itself.
Businesses that build platforms to enable innovators are also eligible for the grant, according minister Woods.
A New to R&D grant is also available for businesses that don't have research and development capabilities established yet, with the government wanting to help offset the high costs and steep learning curve of setting up such programmes.
The second grant will also provide an on-ramp to the government's R&D Tax Initiative (RDTI), which Woods says has seen over 1500 business enrolled in the scheme.
Some $118 million in RDTI credits have been approved, and Woods said this has supported private sector investment in R&D of over $788 million to date.
Applications for the new grants will be available from the middle of September this year.
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