Commercialisation Partner Network and PreSeed Accelerator Fund 2027-2029 Investment Plan

Under this Investment Plan, the Government will invest:

• Up to $36.54 million (excluding GST) into the CPN over 2 years from 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2029.
• Up to $20 million (excluding GST) into the PSAF over 2 years from 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2029.

Commercialisation system goals

The New Zealand Government aims to build a more connected, purposeful and high-performing science, innovation and technology (SI&T) system that delivers greater impact from public investment in research. In relation to the commercialisation of publicly funded research, the Government’s approach is to provide researchers and research organisations with stronger incentives, clearer pathways, and the resources to identify, develop, and progress promising opportunities towards commercial investment.

The CPN and the PSAF give practical effect to these goals by strengthening the pathways, capability, and incentives needed to turn publicly funded research into commercial outcomes. Together, they support a more coherent end-to-end commercialisation system: one that helps build researcher and organisational capability, connects opportunities with specialist expertise, and increases the flow of investable propositions from early-stage discovery through to market-ready opportunities.

Commercialisation Partner Network Fund

Policy objectives

The CPN is intended to help researchers, research organisations, and businesses better identify and capture market opportunities, with a vision of a connected ecosystem of researchers, research organisations, investors, and entrepreneurs that actively drives innovation and wealth creation. It aims to:

• increase rates of translation of technology or intellectual property (IP) through licenses to third parties
• increase rates of formation of investable entities (e.g. spin-out and start-up companies) that leverage technology or IP
• improve access to capability building and other commercialisation support for researchers
• build commercialisation capabilities within and across commercialisation offices
• create stronger linkages between researchers, research organisations, individuals, and groups with the skills and interest in commercialising ideas and growing spin-out companies.

This will be achieved by funding initiatives that enhance commercialisation skills, provide practical support services, streamline project selection and investment processes, and build strong local and global networks. Collaboration and knowledge-sharing across organisations are central, helping create scale and improve overall effectiveness.

Investment schemes and funding available

The CPN is administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), with final funding decisions made by MBIE’s Deputy Secretary for Labour, Science and Enterprise.

The CPN comprises three schemes: Commercialisation Partners, Capability Developers, and University Commercialisation Centres. From 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2029, up to $18.27 million (excluding GST) per year will be available across three schemes:

• $4.77 million (indicative) for Commercialisation Partners
• $4 million (indicative) for Capability Developers
• $9.5 million (indicative) for University Commercialisation Centres

MBIE will select CPN participants to ensure the best mix of capabilities and connections to maximise impact, while coordinating activity to deliver a cohesive, high-performing system.

Applicants can apply to and may receive funding from one or more schemes, with decisions considering the quality of proposals, the level and balance of government investment, alignment to the investment plan’s objectives, and synergies across activities and providers (including the ability to strengthen and connect existing ecosystem capabilities while minimising duplication). Selection criteria will also consider performance across the three CPN themes: Investment and Commercialisation Services, Capability Development, and Networking and Collaboration.

CPN funding is allocated from the Commercialisation and Partnership category of the Science System Investments Multi-Category Appropriation in Vote Business, Science and Innovation. Responsibility for this appropriation sits with the Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Commercialisation Partners

This scheme invests in organisations that will provide external expert advice to commercialisation projects derived from publicly funded research. It aims to maintain and strengthen the national network and enable effective delivery of government support, including the PSAF.

Commercialisation Partners will build and strengthen system capability through a combination of investment management and delivery of commercialisation expertise across national and international networks. Activities may include:

• Commercialisation and investment services: investment process development, project assessment, investment decisions, and portfolio management
• Capability development: delivering and sharing best-practice training and resources, and enabling practical engagement in commercialisation and investment processes
• Networking and collaboration: building and leveraging national and international networks, sharing knowledge and facilitating access to expertise, mentorship, and investors, and working collectively to extend system reach and impact.

Partners must operate processes that review, support, and recommend PSAF projects, including providing equitable consideration for projects eligible for PSAF funding, and ensuring independent, merit-based decisions.

Capability Developers

This scheme invests in activities that build commercialisation capability and deepen researchers’ expertise in and exposure to commercialisation, primarily focused on uplifting commercialisation capability of university researchers.

Funding is available to organisations with experience in building capability in the commercialisation of IP within the SI&T system.
Capability Developers will deliver activities that strengthen commercialisation capability across the system, supported by effective networks and collaboration. Activities may include delivering training and skill-building activities for researchers, and leveraging commercialisation experts, investors, and mentors with experience and interest in building capability of researchers.

University Commercialisation Centres

This scheme invests in centres that provide university researchers with access to commercialisation support and aims to increase overall investment in commercialisation from universities. It expects centres to take a system-wide approach, collaborating and sharing expertise to support the commercialisation of publicly funded research across New Zealand.

The Government will invest in organisations based on their capacity to effectively deliver commercialisation support for researchers at scale across the university system, including through collaboration and shared services across universities.
Centres will focus on enabling commercialisation of university research through an integrated approach with the greater network. Activities may include:

• Commercialisation services: identifying and assessing opportunities; providing advice on commercialisation pathways and intellectual property management; and supporting progression to investor readiness
• Networking and collaboration: supporting university system-wide opportunity development through collaboration across centres to deliver services at scale, share expertise, and connect researchers with networks, partners, investors, and specialist capability.

Co-Funding requirements

To support delivery and ensure shared investment, the investments in both the Capability Developers and University Commercialisation Centres schemes require matched co-funding.

This co-funding cannot include any funding provided by MBIE (or any funding that is used to match such funding).

• For the Capability Developers scheme, organisations whose researchers are benefiting from capability development will contribute at least 50 per cent of the total cost of delivery. Co-funding may include direct funding and in-kind contributions such as staff time, mentoring, partnerships or investment for CPN Capability Developers to deliver or roll-out programmes.
• For the University Centres scheme, recipient organisations will contribute at least 50 per cent of the total cost to deliver commercialisation activities and services, including commercialisation staff time and reasonable overheads. As a condition of funding, costs covered under this scheme cannot also be claimed as costs against the PSAF and the co-funding using to match this funding cannot also be used to match the funding provided under PSAF.

Co-funding is not required for the Commercialisation Partners scheme.

PreSeed Accelerator Fund

Policy objectives

The purpose of the PSAF is to support the advancement of technology and IP that result from publicly funded research or research capability towards the point at which it is ready for private-sector investment.

The PSAF plays a critical role by providing a rapid and agile mechanism for accelerating the development of promising opportunities with strong commercial potential by supporting the cost of commercialisation activities, thereby building commercialisation capability within research organisations and strengthening the early-stage innovation and commercialisation pipeline. In doing so, it aims to increase the stream of commercial prospects arising from and attract greater private investment into the commercialisation of publicly funded research, helping transform research outcomes into commercially viable opportunities.

The PSAF’s primary objective is to fund early-stage commercialisation activities that maximise the commercial benefits to New Zealand from publicly funded research. As a secondary objective, it seeks (through delivery of projects) to:

• improve the commercial capability and skills of researchers and research organisations
• promote linkages between public research organisations and potential private sector partners, including industry players and capital providers in New Zealand and offshore.

Investment schemes and funding available

The PSAF is administered by MBIE, with final funding decisions made by MBIE’s Deputy Secretary, Labour, Science and Enterprise.

PSAF funding can be used to support commercialisation projects that result from any publicly funded research or any publicly funded research capability. From 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2029, up to $10 million (excluding GST) per year is available.

The PSAF operates as a devolved funding model, with funding allocated to one or more devolved administrator(s).

To administer PSAF an organisation must also be a CPN Commercialisation Partner. PSAF administrators will be selected based on their ability to effectively deploy and manage a PSAF allocation of across a broad portfolio of opportunities, including those from multiple research organisations with eligible projects. The amount of the PSAF allocated to a PSAF administrator will be determined based on expected demand for funding from that PSAF administrator, as well as the expected performance of that PSAF administrator in pipeline management and achieving a return on investment from its PSAF allocation.

Investment decisions will consider the quality of proposals, the level and balance of government investment, and alignment to investment plan.

Funding for the PSAF is allocated from the Commercialisation and Partnership category of the Science System Investments Multi-Category Appropriation in Vote Business, Science and Innovation. Responsibility for this appropriation sits with the Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Co-Funding requirement

PSAF funding will support up to 50 per cent of the total costs of commercialisation projects. Recipients will be required to provide a minimum of 50 per cent of the remaining costs from a mix of their own and externally generated funds. This co-funding cannot include any funding provided by MBIE (or any funding that is used to match such funding).

Private sector in-kind contributions can be counted as part of the co-funding up to 60 per cent of the co-funded amount (or up to 30 per cent of the total project cost).

In addition, as a condition of funding, organisations awarded CPN University Commercialisation Centres funding will be unable to claim eligible commercialisation staff time and associated overheads against PSAF projects.