Marsden grants are the main form of contestable funding for fundamental, 'blue skies' research in New Zealand. Grants are made in all areas of research, in both science and the humanities. The grants are made from the Marsden Fund, which was established by the New Zealand Government in 1994. The Fund is administered by the
Royal Society of New Zealand
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
. Most of the grants go to researchers at New Zealand universities, but some go to researchers at
Crown Research Institute
In New Zealand, Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) are corporatised Crown entities charged with conducting scientific research.
Crown Research Institutes date from 1992, with most formed out of parts of the former Department of Scientific and Indus ...
s and elsewhere.
The first Marsden grants were awarded in 1995, when NZ$10.2 million (excluding
GST GST may refer to:
Taxes
* General sales tax
* Goods and Services Tax, the name for the value-added tax in several jurisdictions:
** Goods and services tax (Australia)
** Goods and Services Tax (Canada)
** Goods and Services Tax (Hong Kong)
**G ...
) was shared between 51 successful projects. In 2001, the Fast Start category was introduced specifically for
Early Career Researchers (within 7 years of completing their PhD). By 2018, the size of the Marsden Fund had grown to NZ$85.6 million and 136 grants were made.
These included 53 Fast Start grants and 83 Standard grants.
The 2018 round also introduced a new category of grant, the Marsden Fund Council Award. These larger grants are focused on interdisciplinary research; however, there were no successful applications in the initial round.
The Marsden granting process is highly competitive, with over 1,000 applications per year and success rates that often hover around 10%. Proposals are assessed primarily on the potential of the research to contribute to the advancement of knowledge.
In the 2018 funding round, the success rate was 11.2% for Standard grants and 14.8% for Fast Start grants.
Because of this intense competition, winning a Marsden grant is regarded as a hallmark of research excellence in New Zealand.
The grants are named after English-New Zealand physicist
Ernest Marsden
Sir Ernest Marsden (19 February 1889 – 15 December 1970) was an English-New Zealand physicist. He is recognised internationally for his contributions to science while working under Ernest Rutherford, which led to the discovery of new theories ...
(1889–1970).
[
]
Budget Allocations
See also
*
References
Grants (money)
{{NewZealand-stub