The Innovation Partnership Programme

The New Zealand Government launched an innovation partnership programme in March 2018 that seeks to attract international innovators. The programme was launched by the Research and Innovation Minister, Megan Woods. The programme aims to attract international firms to undertake R&D in New Zealand.

The innovation minister added that the government was focused on increasing total spend on R&D, so as to reach a rate of 2 percent of GDP in 10 years. This is in accordance with an agreement reached between the Labour Coalition and New Zealand First. Currently, the total R&D spending in the country stands at 1.3 percent of GDP. As such, the government is working to overhaul the R&D tax incentive program.

A working paper from the International Monetary Fund states that the firms that have a strong investor presence in technology frontier nations could benefit significantly more from R&D. Although New Zealand has not been included in the group of frontier countries (the United States, Germany and Japan), many technological firms have been chosen to engage in R&D in New Zealand due to its relative isolation. This way, they can engage in confidential innovative activities without drawing unnecessary attention. The regulatory regime and business-friendly environment in the country are other drawcards. Firms that are already operating in the country include Kitty Hawk Corp, which is has operated as Zephyr Airworks. The company has been testing its self-driving flying car in New Zealand.

The Innovation Partnership Programme is administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.