Summary

Key Findings

The ERI data indicates that:

• On both an inflation-adjusted and per full-time equivalent researcher basis, the ERI earned by universities increased significantly between 2000 and 2009. Most of this increase came from government sources.
• The government was the main source of ERI for the universities. In 2009, 75 percent of ERI earned by universities was sourced from government, an increase from 68 percent in 2000.
• The ERI earned by universities that was sourced from business was higher in 2009 than in 2000. But, as a percentage of all university ERI, the percentage sourced from business was lower in 2009 than in 2000.
• The share of New Zealand business research and development expenditure attracted by universities was the same in 2009 as in 2002.
• The ERI earned by universities from overseas sources was higher in 2009 than in 2002, with universities capturing a greater share of the total expenditure by overseas sources on research and development organisations.