This report presents an independent view of the role that Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) can and should play in meeting New Zealand’s current and future needs. CRIs and the work they do play a significant role in many aspects of our lives and will be crucial in our post COVID-19 economic rebuild. The report reaffirms that and also provides suggestions to ensure that CRIs collectively are well placed to continue that great work they do into the future.

Recommendations

1. CRIs address areas of overlap and organise to ensure the option of a ‘single front door’ for customers and other stakeholders who interact with multiple CRIs
2. CRIs provide a supportive environment for a growing cohort of Māori researchers
3. CRIs work together to build an integrated, Tiriti-based partnership with Māori
4. CRIs need to work collaboratively to ‘build a pipeline’ in areas of emerging skills’ shortage, such as data science
5. Integrated investment planning, enabling system-level allocation of scarce capital