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If you're a business with smart ideas needing an injection of research and development funding to transform them into reality, get friendly with Technology New Zealand, the Government's business R&D funding arm.
Technology New Zealand's funding has been increased to around $50 million for the year to June 2003, with up to $2 million available for individual projects.
The big dollars really are on offer - just a few months after the ceiling was lifted, Technology New Zealand approved its biggest ever grant of $1.7 million. The money went to Auckland company Antipodean Biotechnology and its R&D partners, to develop a new chemical compound to treat Friedreich's ataxia and Huntington's chorea.
Technology New Zealand's job is to invest in projects that deliver economic growth, new skills and increased capability. The funding increase, which reflects the Government's emphasis on innovation as a means of export growth, has been matched by staff increases within Technology New Zealand, which now has 15 employees in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
Along with extra...