Nationally Significant Collections and Databases
Scientific collections and databases comprise systematically collected groups of items or data that underpin a broad range of scientific research.
On this page
About the collections and databases
Scientific collections and databases comprise systematically collected groups of items or data that underpin a broad range of scientific research.
Collections generally contain physical specimens such as animals, plants, microorganisms or fossils and their associated metadata.
Databases are stored repositories of information on particular subjects of interest such as climate observations, environmental data or natural hazards information.
The funding basis
The New Zealand Government provides $19 million of funding per year to Nationally Significant Collections and Databases (NSCDs) through us.
The NSCDs were identified in 1992 and funded on the basis that:
- the databases and collections are critical for New Zealand science to deliver public benefit
- the benefits accrue to many, varied users and third party beneficiaries.
In addition to the NSCDs, we indirectly fund other collections and databases through research investments.
The collections and databases we fund directly are shown in the table below.
| Collections and databases directly funded by us | Custodians |
| Margot Forde Germplasm Centre(external link) | AgResearch |
| Adélie Penguin Census Database* | Antartica New Zealand |
| Micro-algae Collection Cawthron Institute | Cawthron Institute |
| National Earthquake Information Database National Groundwater Monitoring Programme National Petrology Reference Collection and PET Database New Zealand Fossil Record File New Zealand Geomagnetic Database New Zealand National Paleontological Collection and Database New Zealand Volcano Database Regional Geological Map Archive and Database |
Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited (GNS) |
| Allan Herbarium and Associated Databases International Collection of Micro-organisms from Plants and Associated Databases Land Resource Information System National Vegetation Survey Databank New Zealand Arthropod Collection, New Zealand Nematode Collection and Specimen and Information Database New Zealand Fungal Herbarium and Associated Database Nga Tipu Whakaoranga Ethnobotany Database and New Zealand Flax and Living Plant Collections |
Landcare Research New Zealand Limited |
| National Climate Database New Zealand Freshwater Fish Database NIWA Marine Benthic Biology Collection Water Resources Archive |
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Limited (NIWA) |
| Crop Germplasm Resources Unit National Collections of Fruit and Crop Germplasm |
The New Zealand Institute of Plant and Food Research Limited |
| National Forest Herbarium and Database | Scion |
| * Not classified as NSCD but funded through MBIE | |
Funding review
We are currently reviewing the Government’s investment in collections and databases to ensure an efficient and enduring funding model.
This review has a broader scope than the NSCDs.
Read more information about the Review including the Terms of Reference.