Top of mind

R&D grows NZ business

A column by Murray Bain, Foundation Chief Executive 

Kia ora and welcome to the first issue of TechNZ Update, written with ambitious and innovative New Zealand businesses in mind.

This week the Government announced the new ministry, formed as a result of the merger of the Foundation and the Ministry for Research Science and Technology.

The Ministry of Science and Innovation is expected to be operational once enabling legislation is in place, possibly by the end of 2010. One of the new ministry’s roles will be to drive knowledge transfer to business and other research users.

Of course some of this work has begun and was given a boost of $234 million over four years for business R&D.

This funding augments a broader Government programme of substantial investment in New Zealand companies – from start-ups to large export-focused companies, but it also specifically encourages businesses to boost their own R&D.

R&D gives business the edge they need to survive and thrive in a fast-changing and increasingly competitive marketplace. New Zealand’s most successful companies are those that invest regularly in R&D. It is a key driver of innovation, business success and economic growth.

The new funding complements the Foundation’s existing TechNZ business programme – which invests $50 million each year in more than 400 businesses to undertake R&D projects and develop capability. We offer advice, support and funding to all sorts of businesses – from small companies embarking on their first R&D project through to New Zealand’s largest exporters.

This investment comes at a time when New Zealand’s business R&D expenditure is 0.5 per cent of GDP. This is low compared to countries such as Australia (0.8 per cent), and Finland (2.4 percent). 

The new R&D products

The Government sees it has a role to play in encouraging businesses to increase their R&D. It has announced two new products to support business R&D and innovation: a technology development grant and a technology transfer voucher. These are working titles and are likely to be changed.

The new products complement our existing TechNZ products and services and will widen the breadth of R&D funding, advice and services available to businesses.

We will pilot the voucher initiative by accrediting specific research organisations and targeting businesses, however detail around accreditation is still being worked through.

The Foundation will administer the new products until the new ministry starts its work. The new products can be applied for in the last quarter of 2010; at present we are shaping their design and related investment processes.

We have outlined the new products in addition to the existing TechNZ products in a fact file for you in this newsletter.

Additional information on the products is available on our website, which will be regularly updated. In the meantime, if you have any queries feel free to email TechNZ@frst.govt.nz.

Murray Bain

Innovation news

Small firm closer to DNA breakthrough

As reported in the Dominion Post, Hamilton-based firm ZyGEM Corp has bought a United States-based company, MicroLab Diagnostics, to tap a US$3 billion (NZ$4.5b) market in DNA testing. Sustained Foundation funding through TechNZ, alongside private sector funding, has seen ZyGEM commercialise the outcomes of its R&D.

Read more here.

Investing in new technology to stem greenhouse gas leakage

Each year 1.3 trillion litres of fuel vapour escape when people fill their vehicle tanks at petrol stations – an environmental problem that a New Zealand firm will tackle with $961,000 in TechNZ funding.

The Foundation’s investment with PEC Fuel Pumps Ltd (PEC) will see the Manawatu-based company develop a vapour management system to prevent the escape of hydrocarbon-based greenhouse gases at petrol stations.

Read more here.

Celebrating bright ideas

A device for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal disease, a seasonal beverage made from sustainable ingredients and a low-cost audio platform for producing music are three ideas among 20 winning entries to the Spark Ideas Challenge (University of Auckland).

TechNZ was a gold sponsor of the 2010 awards on 25 May, attended by more than 450 university staff, postgraduate students and business guests.

The Ideas Challenge awarded 10 prizes of $1,000 for the best commercial ideas, 10 prizes of $1,000 for the best social entrepreneurship ideas and a further three special prizes for the best engineering, and computer science biotech entries.

Read more about the winners’ ideas here.

Charlie cares

An elderly care robot called Charlie and a robotic helicopter that could monitor the health of Kiwi farms are among the high-profile projects being worked on by Auckland University’s Robotics Research Group.

Funded by the Foundation, the group includes nearly 20 software engineers and robotics experts from countries including New Zealand, Korea, Pakistan and India. Read more about this project in the PC World magazine.

Kiwi vet goes global

As reported in the National Business Review, Dr Brian Ward, founder and chief executive of medical device company Mesynthes, is set to break into the United States market with his company’s Endoform human tissue repair technology.

Dr Ward received US approval for Endoform in January this year and is looking to expand into Europe and Asia. TechNZ and the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise awarded combined funding of almost $1 million to assist with the development of this innovative product.

Read more here.

Opportunities and events

Find & Fund offer extended

Great news for ambitious New Zealand businesses—Global Expert's find and fund offer has been extended to 30 June. Businesses that use Global Expert before the end of June can access $2,000 towards the cost of hiring the expert, providing the business meets TechNZ and search criteria. Global Expert identifies and connects New Zealand businesses to national and international experts to overcome challenges associated with product development, design and delivery.

For more information click here.

A feature article about how Global Expert connects businesses with experts around the globe can be read here.

Wellington—your bright ideas could be worth $25,000

Grow Wellington, one of TechNZ’s regional partners, has launched the inaugural Bright Ideas Challenge with the intent to invigorate Wellington’s innovation culture.

Write up your bright idea in 100 words and you could win $25,000 worth of seed capital, a place on the Bright Ideas Kick-start programme (worth $1,200), and the opportunity to connect with business experts and investors.

Read more about this competition here.

Request for Proposals invited for network of regional partners

A Request for Proposals (RfP) has now been issued as part of the process to create a nationwide network of ‘regional partners’ to help small businesses access information, funding, training and development services.

The Foundation and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) are calling for proposals from 14 regions nationwide: Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, East Coast, Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki, Manawatu-Wanganui, Wellington, Nelson-Marlborough, West Coast, Canterbury, Otago and Southland.

The network will build on the Foundation’s existing network of regional TechNZ partners providing R&D support to businesses. It is the key feature of a new model for delivering publicly-funded information and development services to small businesses, recently announced by Minister for Economic Development Gerry Brownlee.

Responses are due by 2 July. The RfP is available on the Government Electronic Tenders Service website.

Bayer Innovators’ Awards open

Entries are now open for the 2010 Bayer Innovators Awards. Last year Mesynthes—a TechNZ-funded medical device company—won the Science and Health category and we encourage companies and firms to read more about the awards here.

Contact us

Tell us your news

We are always keen to hear about the companies and organisations we invest in. In particular we are looking for material that will be suitable for this newsletter, press releases, or case studies.

Please email your contributions to stephanie.gray@frst.govt.nz

Follow us on Twitter

We update our Twitter page daily with links to events, opportunities and news of interest to you. www.twitter.com/TechNZ_Govt

Join our LinkedIn group

LinkedIn members are invited to join the TechNZ group; search for the group from your LinkedIn page, or join LinkedIn as a new member and go from there.

TechNZ product fact file

TechNZ investment is tailored so businesses can complete research faster, undertake projects they would not otherwise have been able to complete, or achieve better results by accessing the right people.

Technology development grant

These three-year grants will support firms that have a good track record in R&D and which spend a significant proportion of their revenue on R&D. The grants will:

• reimburse 20 per cent of eligible expenditure on a business’s R&D programme, up to $2.4m a year 
• be available to firms with an average R&D intensity (eligible R&D expenditure divided by revenue) of 5 per cent or more over the past three years, and with revenues of at least $3m per annum 
• be administered by the Foundation through an annual investment round; the Foundation is planning to receive applications from 1 October 2010. 

Technology transfer vouchers

These vouchers are designed to increase the technology and knowledge transfer from research organisations into firms. The vouchers will:

• be piloted for two years
• be available to firms that lack specific in-house research capability to answer R&D questions, and that will benefit from the R&D expertise and services of a research organisation
• provide 50 per cent funding towards business R&D projects to enable firms to access research services and expertise from accredited publicly-funded research organisations.
• have a minimum value of $100k
• be awarded by an on-demand process; applications will open from November 2010.

Full operational details on how the grants and vouchers will work will be available later in time. In the meantime, email your queries to TechNZ@frst.govt.nz or read more here.

Existing TechNZ products:

TechNZ project

TechNZ project funding is co-funding that enables businesses to develop new technology products, processes or services.

TechNZ capability

TechNZ capability funding enable businesses to lift their R&D capability. This funding:

• can be used to purchase expert advice, engage experts in-house, and employ students to undertake R&D projects
• can be used for market and technology assessments for new products and to undertake patent and intellectual property searches. 

Global Expert

Global Expert is a service that identifies and connects New Zealand businesses to the best national and international experts through all stages of the innovation process from design, development and through to delivery. Global Expert:

• is focused on lifting connections and engagement between New Zealand businesses and national and international research organisations.
• enables businesses to develop the connections and relationships to access the right expertise to accelerate product development, increase productivity and improve profitability.

More information about these existing TechNZ products is available online here.