 | |
| Crown entity overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1 February 2013 |
| Preceding Crown entity | |
| Jurisdiction | Government of New Zealand |
| Headquarters | Gracefield, Lower Hutt, New Zealand |
| Motto | New Zealand's Innovation Agency |
| Minister responsible |
|
| Crown entity executives |
|
| Key document | |
| Website | www.callaghaninnovation.govt.nz |
Callaghan Innovation is a New Zealand Crown entity responsible for making New Zealand business more innovative.
It was established on 1 February 2013, after the House of Representatives passed the Callaghan Innovation Bill the previous year. [2] Industrial Research Limited, a Crown Research Institute, was merged into it. [3] The institute takes its name from Sir Paul Callaghan, a prominent New Zealand physicist who died in 2012.
Mary Quin became the first chief executive, in May 2013, [4] and resigned in July 2016. Victoria Crone started as chief executive on 28 February 2017 and resigned in July 2021. Stefan Korn became the acting executive and was permanently appointed in September 2022.
On 6 January 2014 the departments of carbohydrate chemistry [5] and high temperature superconductors [6] were ceded to Victoria University of Wellington, being renamed the Ferrier and Robinson Research Institutes respectively. [7] This resulted in a transfer of 55 staff.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins announced the government's intention to close Callaghan Innovation in a "state of the nation" speech on 23 January 2025. Collins justified the closure on the grounds that the crown research institute had "been spread too thinly across too many functions, leading to poor financial performance and an over-reliance on Crown funding." Its functions would be transferred to other entities. [8]
The New Zealand National Party, shortened to National or the Nats, is a centre-right New Zealand political party that is the current senior ruling party. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside its traditional rival, the Labour Party.
Judith Anne Collins is a New Zealand politician who has served as the attorney-general and minister of defence since 27 November 2023. She served as the leader of the Opposition and leader of the New Zealand National Party from 14 July 2020 to 25 November 2021. Collins has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Papakura since 2008 and was MP for Clevedon from 2002 to 2008.
In New Zealand, Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) are corporatised Crown entities charged with conducting scientific research. In January 2025, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced plans to merge the existing crown research institutes into three new public research organisations (PROs).
The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology is a New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE) specialising in materials science and nanotechnology. It is hosted by Victoria University of Wellington, and is a collaboration between five universities and two Crown Research Institutes.
David Allister Bennett is a New Zealand former National Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Hamilton East from 2005 to 2020 and a list MP from 2020 to 2023. He was Minister for Food Safety and Minister of Veterans' Affairs in the final year of the Fifth National Government.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA, is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental sciences. It also maintains nationally and, in some cases, internationally important environmental monitoring networks, databases, and collections.
Industrial Research Limited (IRL) was a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand that was established in 1992 and merged into Callaghan Innovation, a new Crown entity, on 1 February 2013. IRL provided research, development and commercialisation services aimed at fostering industry development, economic growth and business expansion. It was established when the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research was disbanded and its staff and assets redistributed to form the research institutes in 1992.
The New Zealand Government is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifically to the collective ministry directing the executive. Based on the principle of responsible government, it operates within the framework that "the [King] reigns, but the government rules, so long as it has the support of the House of Representatives". The Cabinet Manual describes the main laws, rules and conventions affecting the conduct and operation of the Government.
Sir Paul Terence Callaghan was a New Zealand physicist who, as the founding director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology at Victoria University of Wellington, held the position of Alan MacDiarmid Professor of Physical Sciences and was President of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance.
Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission, is a Crown entity under the New Zealand Crown Entities Act 2004. The Commission provides financial education and information to residents of New Zealand, advises government on retirement income policy, and monitors the effectiveness of the Retirement Villages Act 2003.
Sir Peter David Gluckman is a New Zealand scientist. Originally trained as a paediatrician, he served as the inaugural Chief Science Advisor to the New Zealand Prime Minister from 2009 to 2018. He is a founding member and was inaugural chair of the International Network for Government Science Advice, and is president of the International Science Council.
The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) was a government science agency in New Zealand, founded in 1926 and broken into Crown Research Institutes in 1992.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is the public service department of New Zealand charged with "delivering policy, services, advice and regulation" which contribute to New Zealand's economic productivity and business growth.
Robert John Ferrier FRSNZ, FNZIC, was an organic chemist who discovered two chemical reactions, the Ferrier rearrangement and the Ferrier carbocyclization. Originally from Edinburgh, he moved to Wellington, New Zealand, in 1970.
Jeffery Lewis Tallon is a New Zealand physicist specialising in high-temperature superconductors.
Christopher Mark Luxon is a New Zealand politician and former business executive who has been serving as the 42nd prime minister of New Zealand since 2023, previously as leader of the Opposition from 2021 to 2023, and as leader of the National Party since 2021. He has been member of Parliament (MP) for Botany since 2020. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Air New Zealand from 2012 to 2019.
The Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology is a minister in the New Zealand Government. The minister's responsibilities include leading the science and innovation system and setting the direction for government investment.
The 2021 New Zealand National Party leadership election was held on 30 November 2021 following the removal of leader Judith Collins in a vote of no confidence on 25 November 2021. Deputy leader Shane Reti was made interim leader until the election. Simon Bridges was the only person to publicly announce his candidacy. About an hour before the National Party caucus was set to meet, he withdrew from the race and endorsed Christopher Luxon.
Science for Technological Innovation was one of New Zealand's eleven collaborative research programmes known as National Science Challenges. Running from 2015 to 2024, the focus of Science for Technological Innovation (SfTI) research was physical science and engineering research for New Zealand's economic growth.
Callaghan Innovation is Crown entity
Callaghan Innovation is a stand-alone Crown Entity established on 1 February 2013. Our role hasn't previously existed in New Zealand.
