Catalyst Fund — Strategic

NZ — China Strategic Research Alliance for Proposals

Funds New Zealand and Chinese partnerships advancing environmental, climate, and biomedical collaborations.

Eligibility · New Zealand, China

The 2026 NZ – China Strategic Research Alliance call is administered by New Zealand's Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) under the Catalyst Fund (Strategic stream), and is the counterpart to a parallel call run by China's Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST). The call invites New Zealand researchers to propose collaborative activities with world-class Chinese partners to achieve scientific excellence beyond what domestic investment priorities could deliver alone. Two priority areas are funded: Environmental Technologies (four projects) and Health and Biomedical Science (two projects). Only these two topics are in scope; all other research areas are ineligible.

The total pool is NZ$2.0 million for approximately six projects, with a per-project cap of NZ$330,000 (exclusive of GST) for the New Zealand partner share over a three-year project term. Eligible New Zealand applicants are universities, Crown Research Institutes, and non-profit research organisations; departments of the public service listed in Schedule 2 of the Public Service Act 2020 are excluded from leading proposals. For-profit companies and individuals are also ineligible on the NZ side. The application window runs from 4 May 2026 to 12 noon NZST on 1 July 2026. Proposals are scored on Excellence (40 points), Connections (30 points), and Impact (30 points) on a 1–7 scale. Chinese partners must independently apply to MoST; if MoST does not shortlist a Chinese applicant, the corresponding NZ proposal is not assessed by MBIE.

Funding decisions are expected in February or March 2027, with projects starting 1 June 2027 — an approximately 11-month gap between the submission deadline and project commencement. Vision Mātauranga policy alignment is assessed where applicable. The historical success rate across the Catalyst Strategic fund is 5–7 percent. Applicants should finalise the Chinese partner relationship and confirm MoST registration status before investing in the full NZ proposal, given the paired-country dependency.