Can we remain a small advanced nation with ongoing losses of our science workforce?
access pdf versions on our releases page and web version of Workforce Stategy
“Two years of science reforms are best described as squeezing more juice from the same fruit, rather than planting and managing our orchards,” says New Zealand Association of Scientists (NZAS) Co-President Troy Baisden.[1]
“That's a tough pill to swallow as another 134 roles, including 86 scientists, are going at the newly merged Bioeconomy Science Institute. The job losses appear to be driven by tight budgets, not efficiency generated by having a coordinated strategy in place.”
“With science roles continuing to go out the door with no strategies in place, there’s no prospect of achieving the growth the government claims it is seeking. Worse, the long-term support for research as the driver of productivity is being defunded so fast that discussion has turned to whether we’ll lose our place in the club of small, advanced economies.” [2] [3]
Co-President Lucy Stewart adds, “The government has effectively run out of time to look after our demoralised science workforce before the election closes in. The big issues remain completely unaddressed, from crippling overheads[4] to dysfunctional early and mid-career roles.”[5]
“We’ve swapped out managers and logos, which gets nothing meaningful done. Science is done by scientists, and we’re losing scientists at a rate unprecedented in decades. We have very few new initiatives in areas of national strength or clear need.”
Baisden points out, “The obvious steps to look after the science workforce were clear from extensive consultation in the previous reform. It was perhaps the most important of four pillars.[6] How could obvious steps have been lost?”
“We’re releasing our 15-point workforce strategy as a reminder to the government and MBIE that action can be taken on it at any time. It also serves as the backbone of our election platform we’ll be putting to political parties and voters to debate and support.”
The strategy has three key themes that put our ailing and demoralised workforce back at the heart of our drive for a successful future.
1. Rebuild the research careers pipeline. Create stable, nationally backed fellowships as well as fair and supportive conditions from PhD to senior researcher, so talent can thrive across universities, institutes, and Māori-led organisations.
2. Fix the funding foundations. Shift to funding toward people and teams, not a burning platform of crippling overheads and endless proposals that can’t all be funded. Back science-led workforce planning and restore strong national leadership linking research and tertiary strategy.
3. Reconnect science with society, business and the world. Give Kiwi researchers stable careers, deeper international ties, and a renewed social contract of trust and service — ensuring science delivers for the nation’s future.
Baisden explains, “Only in a system with stability and independence can researchers build trust as they provide facts, foresight and support innovation – in the face of crises and irrespective of the government of the day. This includes forming and supporting communities of researchers to drive forward missions.”
“Doing so requires reconnecting science with society and rebuilding trust and investment, including initiatives that span our PROs, universities and beyond. Repairing science careers provides part of the solution that needs to be matched with stable support for the foundation of our research system and clusters of focus where we succeed and look after our national needs.”
“The cancellation of the unloved National Science Challenges has left large vacuums in what had been seen as the 11 most important areas of research. Now is the time to consider supporting clusters, for example, by reimagining and better funding university Centres of Research Excellence (CoREs).[7] Doing so in obvious areas where integrated research is sorely needed, like climate change and energy, would move us forward, reimagine how to fix the underfunded CoRE model, and provide an alternative to the chaos of a competition to fund or refund all ten currently operating CoREs at the same time in 2028.”
Our Workforce Strategy is linked and on our releases page (PDF). We note it includes a glossary.
[1] https://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2025/01/23/reforms-to-nzs-science-sector/
[2] https://informedfutures.org/govt-must-look-beyond-political-gains-in-rd-reform/
[3] https://vimeo.com/1143316086?fl=pl&fe=sh#t=6m46s
[4] https://doi.org/10.26686/nzsr.v80.9848
[5] https://doi.org/10.26686/nzsr.v80.10493
[6] https://www.mbie.govt.nz/dmsdocument/25789-te-ara-paerangi-future-pathways-white-paper-2022-pdf
[7] https://www.tec.govt.nz/funding/fund-finder/centres-of-research-excellence/cores-funded-in-201920-round