Over the last couple of years NZHR has attempted to secure increased government investment in health research through the Finance and Expenditure Committee Budget Policy Statement formal submission processes. However in both years it was our experience that by that time key budget decisions had already made and that opportunities to influence any outcomes were at best limited. This year we’re attempting to get in earlier by writing directly to MBIE, and engaging earlier in the cycle. Specifically we’ve recommended that MBIE:

1. allocates an additional $26m of specific and exclusive new health research investment in the 2022/23 budget, with an emphasis on mental health research
   
   
2. commits in the 2022/23 budget to a three year investment trajectory comprising further year on year increases in specific and exclusive new health research funding of an additional $30.4m in 2023/24, a further additional $35.6m in 2024/25, and a further $41.7 again in 2025/26.
   
   
3. strongly recommends to government formal adoption of a ten-year 2.4% of government healthcare costs health research investment trajectory, representing increases of 17.1% per year

Read the full submission here