Roadmaps: Frequently Asked Questions
An information guide
Roadmaps represent the Government’s position on the science, noting how our science capabilities should develop to best meet New Zealand’s future needs. They are not technological roadmaps, with milestones, targets or detailed research plans. Those details need to be decided by those with the responsibility for funding particular pieces of research, in conjunction with research organisations and the end-users of research.
Roadmaps set the context for the detailed work of the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and the Health Research Council. The Foundation, for example, will work with relevant stakeholders to identify the key research questions at a level of detail below each Roadmap.
The Roadmaps also set the scene for better co-ordination across government. The directions in each Roadmap not only highlight the areas of science we need to build but also the future skills and connections we need to make.
RS&T funding and investment agencies as well as research organisations are looking for clearer signals from Government about its expectations and needs from science. Government has a range of policy statements and strategies that are relevant to science, in areas such as sustainable development, economic development, and biosecurity, but these don’t provide sufficient information about science needs and opportunities to enable public research funders or research organisations to respond readily. Roadmaps are being developed to fill this gap.
Roadmaps are approved and issued by the Minister of RS&T in consultation with other Ministers as appropriate.
In practice, we anticipate Roadmaps being used by:
- RS&T funding and investment agencies, such as the Foundation of Research, Science and Technology (FRST) and the Health Research Council (HRC), to inform their strategies, processes and decisions;
- science organisations, such as Crown Research Institutes and universities, to help them understand government’s needs from science, to support their research and capability planning, and to provide a channel to communicate science opportunities to government;
- government departments to help inform their own research plans and policy development.
Roadmaps are developed through discussion and evidence-gathering. The process for the first four involved a wide range of people and organisations with knowledge of the particular area of science, from science, government, business and other interested groups. They all involve a formal consultation step.
MoRST is leading the development of Roadmaps, working closely with other agencies such as FRST, HRC or central government departments.
Are Roadmaps a way of priority-setting?
The main purpose of Roadmaps is to communicate the needs and opportunities for publicly funded science within selected science areas. Just because a science area has a Roadmap doesn’t necessarily mean the areas overall is a priority for Government or will receive more funds relative to those areas which don’t have Roadmaps. It may simply reflect the need for communication of objectives or strengthened coordination of science effort.
Roadmaps will, however, identify important capabilities for the Roadmap area and ensure the science system is equipped to develop or maintain these. In this sense Roadmaps will be signalling priorities within particular science areas.
Roadmaps will be a useful mechanism when:
- existing government strategy requires or benefits from research, science and technology;
- there are a range of interests across government or the economy in a particular science related area but the sector participants are poorly connected;
- there are specific science goals that the government needs to communicate to research investment agencies and the science sector, for example around science strategies for greenhouse gas mitigation or possum control; or
- an area of science may have impacts across society that need to be anticipated by Government or others, for example nanotechnology.
There won’t be a roadmap for every area of research funding; but we anticipate producing or refreshing two to four Roadmaps per year.
Roadmaps will be a formal part of the suite of direction-setting communications for the science system, endorsed by Cabinet, and formally recognised by the Minister of Research, Science and Technology. All research purchase agents that invest Vote RS&T funds will be instructed to take account of Roadmaps, where they exist, to inform their activities and decisions.
Completed Roadmaps will be sent to all New Zealand research funding and investment agents, public research organisations, and relevant industry groups, as well as being made publicly available through this web site.