Long abstract

In April 2024, the New Zealand government established an advisory group to review all aspects of the university system in New Zealand including policy settings, funding, governance, and academic governance. It was paralleled by a review of the research and innovation system with the same chair for each review and observers from each panel engaged on the other to ensure a comprehensive review of the entire knowledge production system. As part of the review , the future of the Performance Based Research Fund (PBRF) was considered in depth. This comprises about 16% of the Universities’ funding and about 30% of the Crown’s funding of the system. It had a structure very similar in principle to the UKs REF with core funding being calculated from research degree completions, research grant and contract income (allowing that in NZ government research is full cost funded, and an extensive and expensive assessment process of every academic’s portfolio review every 6-7 years. The review team considered at length the purposive of the PBRF in the NZ context and engaged in much international consultation, recognising that since its introduction much has evolved. It focused its recommendations on what would be more effective moving ahead with a more responsive process that meant that it was more forward looking and that its purpose is clear, namely to promote research intensity within the eight universities . I will present the considerations from the review and assuming the Crown has announced its response to the review, explain the recommended revisions.