A staged, competitive process to shape regional research investment

Despite overall national growth, significant regional disparities in economic performance persisted.

New Zealand’s regional economies continue to show persistent and long-standing disparities in economic performance, productivity and income levels. While some regions have experienced strong growth, others remain constrained by structural factors including industry concentration, limited firm scale, and exposure to external shocks such as commodity price volatility and climate events.

These conditions are particularly pronounced in regions with high dependence on primary industries, where opportunities for higher-skilled employment and diversification into higher-value activities remain limited. As a result, some communities continue to experience lower household incomes, higher unemployment, and reduced access to knowledge-intensive roles that drive long-term economic resilience.

Against this backdrop, there is a clear challenge in how to strengthen regional innovation capacity and support more diversified, high-value economic activity. This includes considering the role that regional research institutes can play in improving productivity, enabling knowledge transfer, and supporting more balanced and resilient regional development outcomes.