Unlocking Curious Minds contestable fund
The Unlocking Curious Minds contestable fund supports the objective of He Whenua Hihiri I Te Mahara - A Nation of Curious Minds by supporting projects that help New Zealanders, particularly those that have fewer opportunities, to learn about and to engage with science and technology.
On this page
The Fund aims to encourage quality projects that reach and inspire a broad base of New Zealanders through initiatives that bring science and technology to audiences that have less opportunity to learn about and to engage with science and technology.
The Fund will support projects that:
- take place in one or more New Zealand regions.
- reach audiences in more than one location across a region(s).
- provide one or more new science and technology engagement activities.
New Zealand's national strategic plan for science and society [PDF, 1.2 MB](external link) - A Nation of Curious Minds He Whenua Hihiri i te Mahara
The funding available
The funding available is set for each investment round. For the Fund’s 2023 investment round, approximately $1.6 million (excluding GST is available to fund successful projects of up to an 11 month period. The funding available per project was between $50,000 (minimum) and $150,000 (maximum).
Full details on fundable activities, the eligibility criteria, the application process, and the assessment criteria against which eligible applications will be assessed are detailed in the 2023 investment round’s Call for Proposals.
Unlocking Curious Minds Contestable Fund: 2023 Call for proposals [PDF, 1.2 MB]
Successful 2022 Unlocking Curious Minds contestable fund investment round proposals
Funding decisions
Our General Manager of the Science System Investment and Performance Branch in the Labour, Science and Enterprise Group, MBIE makes the final investment decisions on which proposals will be funded.
Contact us
For more information, email curiousminds@mbie.govt.nz.
In this section
Application and assessment information
How to apply for funding from the Unlocking Curious Minds contestable fund and how applications are assessed.
Successful 2022 Unlocking Curious Minds proposals
Through the 2022 funding round, the Unlocking Curious Minds contestable fund is supporting 13 projects aimed at engaging more New Zealanders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Unlocking Curious Minds contestable fund 2023 panel members
The Panel members appointed by MBIE will make the final funding decisions for the 2023 Unlocking Curious Minds contestable fund.
Unlocking Curious Minds contestable fund 2023 assessors
Independent assessors appointed by MBIE will assess eligible 2023 Unlocking Curious Minds contestable fund proposals against the assessment criteria set out in the 2023 Call for Proposals.