The announcement by Science Minister Judith Collins this week that half of New Zealand’s sole fund for fundamental science will now go to research with economic benefits – with social sciences and the humanities no longer supported – came as a shock to many.
Perhaps it shouldn’t have. The signs have been there for a while. In August, Collins spoke at the 30th anniversary celebration of the Marsden Fund. Her insistence on economic impact worried many in the room because this fund was meant to support pure – not applied – research.
