Research and Consultancy in New Zealand

New Zealand boasts a thriving and diverse research community comprising a vast range of organisations which work in numerous fields including medicine, tourism, biotechnology, communications and climate change. The most prominent of these are the 8 Crown Research Institutes, each a government owned business based around a specific sector of the economy or important natural resource. Independent research organizations include Aqualinc Research Limited, Transport Engineering Research New Zealand, and the Cawthron Institute. There is also The Royal Society of New Zealand which funds research, publishes journals, offers advice to government and aims to foster international cooperation in the scientific community.

The consultancy sector in New Zealand is well renowned both domestically and internationally, with consultancy industry exports being worth more than NZ$700 million a year (2010). In 2011 New Zealand’s largest consultancy services were in the engineering design sector, especially in fields such as seismic engineering. Other consultancy services include agriculture, conservation, economic development, legal, and resource management. The ‘big four’ consultancy firms also operate in the country, providing services including, auditing, forensic accounting and tax.