NZAS - New Zealand Association of Scientists

Hidden in the storyline are sad hints of the aftermath of an abruptly cancelled National Science Challenge and what I have been writing about recently – the reality that our research system and universities need proper support for the integrity of decision-making and prosperity.

Some parties are putting institutions that combine integrity and independence, like the Climate Change Commission, on the chopping block in this election.

I've not been posting in my Environmental Integrity Project much this year, because watching integrity disappear isn't great to chronicle. Yet, there are clear patterns that deserve some attention. troybaisden.substack.com/p/integrity-...

Drawing my initial 4-part series to a close - Here's why the silent defunding and destruction of science is an election issue. Please share and subscribe. sellingscience.substack.com/p/what-drive...

If you asked yourself what a failed research reform looks like... The third post in this series. Please share and subscribe. sellingscience.substack.com/p/fingerprin...

In the last post, I looked at the impacts on people who do science. We can't fix that without realising how badly structured our system is, and why.

Aotearoa has made a terrible hash of science funding and institutions. A decades-long mistake puts results-for-business thinking ahead of having a well structured public research system that serves the nation. The result isn't even good for business. sellingscience.substack.com/p/cutting-th...

It will provide handy summaries on particular subjects in ways that tie together and highlight what's made it into the media etc. It feels a bit urgent ... I'll make the case that getting science visible in the election matters. Consider subscribing...

Important thoughts on the cuts and reforms in the research system have been accumulating faster than I could get them out, so I decided the best plan is to start pushing them into a new substack. If you appreciate my posts - please subscribe. sellingscience.substack.com/p/our-scienc...

The @savesciencenz.bsky.social election policy scorecard is out. Responses were requested from every party invited to the SSC pre-election forum. We think it makes for pretty clear reading. A PDF copy and a recording of the forum itself are linked at the top of our website - scientists.org.nz

Catch video of today's Save Science Coalition Pre-Election Panel here. youtu.be/yANuPXbqBb8

Streaming info is on our page (and it is the best place to check back for completed video or replacement feed if there are any tech issues. scientists.org.nz/page-18192

Today 12-1pm Panel Discussion on Science and Research Issues for the 2026 General Election Catch the livestream (or attend - preferably if you've registered). www.youtube.com/live/0yxmHaa...

This whole idea of pushing Business R&D at the expense of the public research system in our institutes, universities etc does not appear to be going well if you plot the data sensibly. It's flatlined in terms of the people for a number of years. Why is current policy doubling down on it?

Shouldn't it be more obvious that NZ's Business R&D was lifted successfully, until we tried to grow it at the expense of what fuels it in the long run – government funded research, carried out through our public research institutions?

So, we've just spent a few years doubling down on policies that aren't working?

I've been pondering Parliament's Scrutiny Week and other statements where it seem the Minister & officials see Business R&D Growth as a panacea. We rarely plot this data inflation adjusted or as a percent of the economy, and when we do it seems apparent it is not growing.

Protip: nominate your friends and colleagues for awards.

In case you missed it the original comment was reported here. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Reuben Davidson asked the Minister about the PM’s quoted intent to “brutally commercialise the research system”. Despite this and opportunities for the PM himself to walk it back at the PM’s science awards, I feel neither enlightened nor reassured. youtu.be/koeINt5pz3A

NZAS release on Budget 2026 is out. It wasn't even a nothing burger this year... What is shocking is the long-term trend. scientists.org.nz/news/13636927

We've put out a press release drawing a thread through recent concerns, and also provided a Briefing to the Incoming Minister (BIM) earlier in the month that suggests a more coherent approach to reform. 2/4

The BIM ends with four narrative strategies we think are needed for the research system to be successfully reformed. Read the BIM - scientists.org.nz/news/13632765 4/4

It includes an improved conceptual diagrams with the needed horizontal layers to complement 'pillars' – so that we focus on the intersection of technology and our existing strengths. Do you agree a new tech pillar isn't the right way to think about it? 3/4

Concerned about the mishmash of bad news hitting research? So are we at New Zealand Association of Scientists (NZAS). Read the press release – scientists.org.nz/news/13632857 1/4

There's either a new fund not yet announced or we're seeing another swingeing cut to science funding. Either way the lack of clarity, given the current stress throughout the system, is...unhelpful.

I've never seen anything quite so unclear. Well, except maybe the maths mistake when MoRST eliminated the post-doc scheme that had worked well for a generation. (They tallied up all the postdocs in the country to be 100, and thought we only fund 30. But they funded 30 each year, for 3 years = 90%).

If you came here looking for answers on what MBIE's Transition Research fund is, we're trying to find out. On the face of it, the $84.8m per year replaces Marsden + Endeavour and more, which currently total 4 times this much?

Comment from Victoria University: The Govt’s science overhaul prioritises commercial outcomes, but risks narrowing the very research pipeline that fuels long-term innovation.

We left the Green Paper Submission on line. It, along with our call for renewal before it, has stood up better than the reforms and their reports, don't you think? (3/3) scientists.org.nz/GreenPaperSu...

From PRO reform that still lacks underlying strategy, to our concerns about the Prioritisation Report scientists.org.nz/news/13616237, to the recent webinar, it looks like our nightmare scenario of managerialism meets the machinery of government along with the worst of politics. (2/3)

What worries me most about the directions of NZ's science reform is that it now matches closely what our extensive 2022 Te Ara Paerangi submission highlighted as 'what to avoid'. (1/3)

You can't have successful missions like the government wants science to be organised into without sufficient social science research.

The government has adamantly cut social science research. It claims we should be more like small advanced economies (SAEs) - even those not dependent on primary/bioeconomy exports. But SAEs fund much more social science research than we do. scientists.org.nz/news/13616237

Our initial reaction to the Prioritisation Report, that would cut existing science areas by up to 22% to pay new Tech development, expresses deep concerns. Do you think the report has strayed into policy-based evidence making? scientists.org.nz/news/13616237

We're filling the gap that was once a pillar of the previous science reform. What happened to it? Need for Workforce Strategy as Job Losses Escalate scientists.org.nz/news/13605014

The reform is failing... (1/5) NZAS: "We have 500% overheads in some cases." Kathryn Ryan: "What??? Where is that happening?" NZAS: "In some of our PROs." NB: Overheads are a necessary part of institutions, but it means something needs fixing when they approach 10 times international norms.

Co-President Dr Lucy Stewart spoke to Kathryn Ryan on Nine to Noon this morning about the continued failure of the government's science sector reforms to make necessary change (or provide desperately needed funding increases)

The current reforms of the research system are now on track for another failure. They double down on mistakes that undermine long-term growth, well being & safety. We must ask for accountability and transparency about three key issues as we go into the election year. scientists.org.nz/news/13593197

🔥 Our Affiliate Troy Baisden was on RNZ's Mediawatch recently, discussing misinformation about EV's malfunctioning and causing fires. The story was in the context of the Goverment slashing by 80% the clean car standard - which incentivised sales of low- or zero-emission vehicles. 🚗