Promoting Research Excellence in New Zealand

"Excellent research is key to the transformation of New Zealand into an innovative and dynamic economy as well as meeting our social and cultural aspirations.

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The results of the Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) Quality Evaluation 2006, released today by the Tertiary Education Commission, demonstrate that New Zealand is continuing to improve the quality of research.

"The results are pleasing as high quality research is essential to our futures," said Tertiary Education Minister Dr Michael Cullen. "Excellent research is key to the transformation of New Zealand into an innovative and dynamic economy as well as meeting our social and cultural aspirations," said Dr Cullen.

The PBRF assesses the research performance of tertiary education organisations and funds them on the basis of their performance.  The Quality Evaluation assesses the research activity of staff in those organisations. 

"The PBRF ensures that research excellence in the tertiary sector, which is responsible for about half of the country's public sector research output, is encouraged and rewarded," Dr Cullen said.

Some results of 2006 Quality Evaluation of the PBRF include:an increase in the number of staff whose Evidence Portfolios were assigned a funded Quality Categoryall universities and most other providers participating in the PBRF have shown improvements in research quality between the 2003 and 2006 Quality Evaluations

"As well, there is a notable increase in the number of world-class researchers.  This confirms that our tertiary education organisations are able to attract and retain staff of the highest quality," Dr Cullen said.

"The $230 million we allocate to the PBRF a year is an acknowledgement of the sector's importance to New Zealand's research development, and therefore to our nation's economic and social advancement and environmental sustainability.

"The latest PBRF results underline our objectives for the current reforms to the tertiary sector. The Labour-led government wants to ensure that we invest in high quality and relevant education, training and research to help accelerate economic transformation," concluded Dr Cullen