Call for Proposals: Endeavour Fund 2026 Contract Extension Round

The funding available

The Science Board may invest up to $59.3 million of new funding (excluding GST) through the 2026 Contract Extension Round for the Endeavour Fund.

The 2026 Contract Extension Round covers both Research Programmes and Smart Ideas funding mechanisms.

Who can apply

For proposals to be eligible under the Endeavour Fund, they must:

• be made by a New Zealand-based Research Organisation or a New Zealand-based legal entity representing a New Zealand-based Research Organisation
• be submitted by a currently contracted recipient of Endeavour Fund funding whose current work programme agreement was, as at the date of signing of the work programme agreement, due to end on 30 September 2026 and propose a 12-month extension to that work programme agreement
• be for research, science or technology, or related activities, the majority of which are to be undertaken in New Zealand, unless the Science Board considers that there are compelling reasons to consider the proposals, despite the amount of research, science or technology or related activities being proposed to be undertaken overseas
• not benefit a Russian state institution (including but not limited to support for Russian military or security activity) or an organisation outside government that may be perceived as contributing to the war effort
• meet any applicable timing, formatting, system or other similar administrative requirements imposed by MBIE in supplying administrative services to the Science Board under section 10(7) of the RS&T Act 2010
• advise that the proposed funding recipient will, and the Science Board is of the view that it can, adhere to the terms and conditions of funding set out in an investment contract determined by the Science Board
• not be for activities already funded elsewhere
• be made by an applicant who is not in breach of the relevant contracted work programme agreement.

In addition to the above criteria, to be eligible, research proposals can include some out-of-scope research outcomes (health*, defence and expanding knowledge) and remain eligible, as long as the sum of these outcomes is 49% or less of the proposal’s outcomes.

Proposals determined to be ineligible by the Science Board cannot be awarded funding.

*Health includes cost savings to healthcare.

Application and assessment information

Invited contract holders are required to complete and submit proposals in Pītau, our Investment Management System - a secure online portal. This year the portal will be accessed through Pītau's Contract Reporting tab. Full guidance on this process is provided in the Variation Proposal Template.

To help you prepare and submit your proposal we have provided a proposal template in the key documents section.

The application and assessment process includes:

1. Invitation – MBIE has sent a letter to Endeavour Fund contract holders whose current work programme agreement was, as at the date of signing of the work programme agreement, due to end on 30 September 2026 (‘Invited contract holders’), inviting them to submit a variation proposal.
2. Invited contract holders will be notified by Pītau and by email when the portal is open. This year the portal will be accessed through Pītau's Contract Reporting tab. Full guidance on this process is provided in the Variation Proposal template.
3. Invited contract holders need to submit a variation proposal draft in Pītau for us to check data accuracy. This needs to be done by 12 noon, 12 November 2025. (See below ‘Guidance on submitting a draft variation proposal’).
4. Invited contract holders complete and submit a final variation proposal by 12 noon, 3 December 2025.
5. Internal MBIE assessors review and evaluate proposals against assessment criteria (see the assessment criteria below).
6. The Science Board confirms eligibility of the proposals and makes its investment decisions informed by MBIE assessments.

Guidance on submitting a draft variation proposal

We need you to submit a draft variation proposal by 12 noon 12 November 2025.

This is to confirm we have all the required data in the correct format to complete an extension to existing contracts, if your proposal is successful. By submitting a draft, we can inform applicants early whether corrections are required.

This requires you to answer all sections. However, in section 2 you can put placeholder answers and go back and edit them after the check.

As part of this draft submission, you will need to download, complete, and upload 2 excel spreadsheets in Pītau. These spreadsheets cover the budget section and team section. 

Once submitted as a draft, IMS Support will check your draft submission. Applicants should expect to hear back within 8 business days to confirm the check is complete or to provide instructions on any rework required. 

Please note this does not form part of the assessment process.

Key dates

Dates are subject to change. If they change, we will let you know by email.

Online information session

Invited contract holders will be invited to join an online information session for the 2026 Contract Extension Round on 8 September 2025. This is an opportunity for invited contract holders to engage with the Endeavour Team.

The online session is scheduled for 2 hours from 2pm to 4pm. The first 30 minutes is a webinar presentation given by MBIE, followed by live questions and answers. Invited contract holders will receive a zoom link by email.

A summary of the questions and answers will be published on this page before the end of October 2025.

Contact endeavour.roadshow@mbie.govt.nz

Key documents

When developing your variation proposal, we encourage you to consult the following key reference documents:

Endeavour Fund Investment Plan 2025-2027

Endeavour Fund 2026 Gazette Notice(external link) — New Zealand Gazette

Endeavour Fund web pages

Your current Work Programme Agreement

The Vision Mātauranga policy outlines the Government’s policy framework that aims to unlock the innovation potential of Māori knowledge, resources, and people to assist New Zealanders to create a better future.

Assessment criteria

Internal MBIE Assessors will evaluate variation proposals on each of the criteria (below) and, in addition to providing supporting commentary to inform Science Board assessment and decisions, will rate them either:

• Meets the criteria.
• Does not meet the criteria.

In reaching funding decisions, the Science Board must assess proposals against the following criteria:

• Aligns to Government priorities by demonstrating alignment to Investment Signals in the Investment Plan 2025-2027.
• Demonstrates a plan for 12-month extension of the contracted work programme set out in the relevant contracted work programme agreement, including new work programme deliverables, which accelerates excellent science and/or the path to impact (where relevant and appropriate for the funding mechanism and stage of the project).
• Provides a plan which is expected to deliver excellent science and impact in alignment with the relevant contracted work programme.
• The extent to which the relevant contracted work programme (to which the proposal relates) has, as at the date of proposal submission, in the view of the Science Board, a satisfactory performance track record.
• Includes an appropriate plan for the use of the funds, and be feasible to complete delivery by 30 September 2027.
• Retains the same work programme team as the relevant contracted work programme, as much as practicable and as appropriate for the stage of the project.

Funding decisions

The Science Board must make funding decisions on variation proposals in accordance with:

• the Public Finance Act 1989 and the relevant Appropriation Acts for Vote Business, Science and Innovation
• the eligibility and assessment criteria specified in the Endeavour Fund 2026 Contract Extension Round Gazette Notice and the relevant Schedules in this Gazette Notice
• the investment signals set out in the Investment Plan 2025-27
• the Government’s Vision Mātauranga policy, if applicable to the proposal.

Contracting, payment, reporting and monitoring

Contracting (variation process) 

If the Science Board decides to fund your variation proposal, MBIE will enter into a Variation Agreement to the existing Science Investment Contract and associated Work Programme Agreement with your organisation. Note, depending on the year an applicant most recently entered into a work programme agreement with MBIE, their Variation Agreement may require amendments to clauses to the Science Investment Contract. A list of required amendments to the Science Investment Contract is provided in the Key documents section.

The Science Board may:

• set contract conditions that must be met before MBIE and the applicant organisation can enter into a variation to the Science Investment Contract and Work Programme Agreement
• set special contract conditions, and/or
• vary the amount of funding allocated from that requested.

Payments

For successful applicants, the funding awarded for the term of the extension will be split into equal monthly payments and paid in advance.

Reporting and monitoring

Contracted applicants for this extension round will be required to report in Pītau at the end of the contract. Reporting guidance and reporting templates are published annually on the Endeavour landing page.

Successful Endeavour 2026 contract extension applicants will have additional reporting questions related to their contract extensions. This will include specific questions regarding the outcomes from the contract extensions compared to the existing contract. These questions will be given to successful applicants in the 2027 reporting template.