New Zealanders for Health Research (NZHR) was established in 2015 to achieve improved health outcomes through increased investment in health research, and better translation of results into policy and practice.

We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the current Science System Review, noting that our subject matter expertise relates most directly to the health research component of the science system. Where we believe we can do so credibly we’ve commented on the science system as a whole, and have drawn on our knowledge of the health science and research sector in particular. We have done this for both its own sake and for illustrative purposes with the intention that our insights can be extrapolated to other areas, and to argue that health science and research should be given prominence in any new science system that emerges as a result of this review. This is because health research in particular has been subject to longstanding institutional and financial neglect, with the result that opportunities for improved health and wellbeing have been, and continue to be, foregone and squandered.

Much of the content of this submission is reflected in NZHR’s March 2022 response to Te Ara Paerangi Future Pathways Green Paper1, which should be read as a companion document to this submission.

Read the full submission here