Centres of Research Excellence

The Centres of Research Excellence are primarily, but not exclusively, inter-institutional research networks, with researchers working together on a commonly agreed work programme.

Each Centre of Research Excellence is hosted by a university and comprises a number of partner organisations including other universities, Crown Research Institutes and wananga.

The first CoREs were established in 2002.

The 2007 Centres of Research Excellence

In 2007 the government announced the selection of seven Centres of Research Excellence through the 2006/07 CoREs Selection Round.  Six of these were existing CoREs (established in 2002/03) and one a new CoRE. The New Zealand Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (NZIMA) CoRE was selected in the 2002 CoREs Selection Round and will receive funding until 2011.

2006/07 Centres of Research Excellence (CoREs) selection round

The Government announced that a third funding round for Centres of Research Excellence would be held in 2006/07 and that an additional $10 million of operating funds and a further $20 million for capital purchases would be added to the Fund. The existing Centres were able to apply for refunding for a further six years and applications were also accepted to establish new Centres.

The TEC contracted the Royal Society of New Zealand (RSNZ) to assist with the selection by running the assessment process for the new funding round and make recommendations for selection to the TEC.

CoREs resources

• CoREs selection framework (PDF, 105 Kb)
• Media Release by Hon Dr Michael Cullen (5 June 2007): Supporting world-class research
• CoREs questions and answers

Mid-Term Review

CoREs funding is subject to a mid-term review.  This will also provide the opportunity to identify issues of a longer-term, strategic and policy nature.