New Zealand Strengthens Research on Extreme Weather Events

In response to the recent severe weather in New Zealand, the Research, Science and Innovation (RSI) sector is undertaking research activities to support response and recovery efforts.

To ensure that the RSI sector is well-coordinated and able to share ideas and work together, the New Zealand Research Information System (NZRIS), led by the S&I team at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), is coordinating a central source of data about extreme weather research and funding.

Following the initial release of the Extreme Weather Research Database on May 8 and the subsequent update on May 15 to include new research records, MBIE has just released the third version of the database to its website, which includes historically funded extreme weather research in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Along with the launch of the database, the RSI sector calls for the submission of data from independent researchers and organisations that are funding extreme weather-related research.

Cuwan van der Wat, Communications and Engagement Lead of the New Zealand Research Information System (NZRIS), wants to spread the word to reach the right people to contribute to the database, especially to organisations or individuals interested in contributing.

Instructions on how to update data are found on the website.

The database contains the list of projects that have been completed and are currently active and a list of extreme weather research in New Zealand that has been funded, the oldest is from 2008, and the latest is due to be completed in 2023. 

The database lists funding awards covering 13 research organisations in the country, receiving a total funding of NZ $459 million.

To learn more about the database, please visit the link in the “Source” section below.