Wellington
It’s early days, but we (the royal we as in NZ Inc) shouldn’t underestimate the importanceand value of the Crown Research Institutes’
(Admission, Wednesday's story said the CRIs had nominated themselves as leads in certainscience areas …. well, it wasn’t just themselves deciding this).
Since the CRIs were formed nearly 20 years ago, it’s been assumed what their science areaswere/are. There’s been nothing explicit.
But as Anthony Scott, chief executive of the CRIs representative body
“Science as well as each end user sector is so dynamic. That’s created change. Andthere’s always been pressure to go where the money is,” he says. “We’ve had the CRIsnibbling away at the edges, or even bursting through the banks of what areas they started outin.”
Scott’s in total agreement with the CRIs new clarity of purpose; pointing out that thestatements came from the respective ministers Mapp and English (Crown representatives as their‘owners’), not the CRIs themselves.
He also points out that the SCP came from deep discussions across the CRIs, stakeholders,government agency and policy people as well as clients of the science.
A clarity of purpose means the CRIs can now collaborate much more easily with each other, knowingthat others aren’t going to cannibalise the science (also read this as funding).
The clarity will also allow improved collaboration with university research, as well as thepolytechnic and research association science that goes on in New Zealand.
“We’re developing a system of national research capability for the entire nation,” Scottsays. “Just as importantly, it shows the private sector and government agencies where the scienceresources are and where the possibilities lie.”
Heck, sounds like we might be starting to get all the science geese flying in formation.