Transition Research Fund 2027
The 2027 Transition Research Fund ensures we continue to support great ideas from inception all the way through to the benefits they deliver for New Zealand. The fund supports high quality foundational and applied research across all disciplines that deliver impact aligned with national priorities.
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The Government is taking a clear step towards a more strategic science funding system with a streamlined Transition Research Fund for 2027 that aligns science funding with national priorities.
A new funding strategy for the science system
The 2027 Transition Research Fund was developed on advice from the newly established science funding decision-maker Research Funding New Zealand.
This new fund brings investigator-led research into a single fund with three funding mechanisms:
- Talent Development supports future research leaders to build capability, test ideas and establish independent careers.
- Projects enable bold, innovative research with strong potential to deliver meaningful benefits for New Zealand.
- Programmes support ambitious, collaborative research tackling complex challenges and delivering transformational outcomes over a longer term.
The Transition Research Fund brings contestable funding which would have otherwise been delivered through future rounds of the Marsden and Endeavour funds into a single investigator-led research fund.
Funding available
The Transition Research Fund 2027 invest up to $84.8 million (excluding GST) in annual funding distributed across 3 funding mechanisms.
| Indicative total annual funding by mechanism | |
|---|---|
| Talent Development | $12.3 million |
| Projects | $40.8 million |
| Programmes | $31.7 million |
| Total annual funding | $84.8 million |
The Transition Research Fund will invest up to $300 million over 5 years in total. This forms part of the total appropriation for Science, Innovation and Technology, alongside funding that has already been committed through previous rounds of Endeavour, Marsden and other investments and initiatives. All existing contracts continue as agreed.
Organisational cap
The 2027 investment round has a cap on the number of proposals that may be submitted by a Research Organisation.
The organisational cap is based on a formula using a rolling average of contracts based on the last 3 completed funding rounds for the Marsden and Endeavour funds (excludes Endeavour 2026 Contract Extension round).
Each research organisation is entitled to submit applications up to their defined organisational cap. The cap on the number of applications for each organisation is outlined in the table below. Organisations not listed in the table below receive a cap of 3 per funding mechanism, meaning organisations are entitled to submit up to 3 proposals per funding mechanism.
Any excess applications received over an organisation’s cap will not be assessed.
| Organisation | Funding mechanism | ||
| Talent Development | Projects | Programmes | |
| Auckland University of Technology | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| Bioeconomy Science Institute | 8 | 22 | 8 |
| Cawthron Institute | 6 | 7 | 5 |
| Earth Sciences NZ | 17 | 24 | 18 |
| Lincoln Agritech | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Lincoln University | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Malaghan Institute | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Massey University | 6 | 14 | 7 |
| PHF Science | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| University of Auckland | 58 | 61 | 13 |
| University of Canterbury | 33 | 27 | 8 |
| University of Otago | 41 | 44 | 12 |
| University of Waikato | 14 | 21 | 3 |
| Victoria University of Wellington | 43 | 30 | 8 |
| Any other organisations | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Investment decisions
Final funding decisions will be made by Research Funding New Zealand, with all funded projects showing clear alignment with Government priorities for science, innovation and technology.
Documents and resources
New transition fund provides continuity while backing bold ideas
Science Investment Plan 2026–2036
Transition Research Fund Investment Plan 2027
2027 Transition Research Fund Gazette Notice(external link) published 14 May 2026 — gazette.govt.nz
2027 Transition Research Fund Gazette Notice(external link) published 23 June 2026 — gazette.govt.nz
Key dates
Indicative key dates for each mechanism are listed below. We expect the Call for Proposals to be published in August 2026.
Talent Development
| Activity | Date |
|---|---|
| Registration opens | 18 November 2026 |
| Registrations close | 16 December 2026 |
| Proposals close | 3 February 2027 |
| Research Funding New Zealand Decision | October 2027 |
| Contracts begin | 1 March 2028 |
Projects
| Activity | Date |
|---|---|
| Registration opens | 27 January 2027 |
| Registrations close | 17 March 2027 |
| Proposals close | 28 April 2027 |
| Research Funding New Zealand Decision | October 2027 |
| Contracts begin | 1 December 2027 |
Programmes
| Activity | Date |
|---|---|
| Registration opens | 30 September 2026 |
| Registrations close | 9 December 2026 |
| Proposals close | 3 March 2027 |
| Research Funding New Zealand Decision | August 2027 |
| Contracts begin | 1 October 2027 |
Dates are subject to change.
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