The New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre has made $4 million available for a second round of its competitive Innovation Fund.

Proposals are called for projects that address the reduction of methane and/or nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural activities in New Zealand.

Successful applications must develop novel approaches and/or significantly strengthen current research avenues that show major promise for bringing practical, farm-level solutions closer to implementation.

Features

• A total of $4 million (NZD) is available.
• Individual projects will have a maximum value of $800,000 and a maximum duration of 2 years, starting 1 July 2021.
• Applications are invited from New Zealand-based research providers, organisations and companies.
• A two-stage process will be followed:
  • Stage 1: submission of EOIs and shortlisting by a Technical Assessment Panel (TAP)
  • NZAGRC staff work with approved shortlisted applicants to develop contract-ready research proposals.
• The specially constituted TAP will evaluate EOIs and make recommendations to the NZAGRC Director on which projects should move to Stage 2. The NZAGRC Director will decide which projects move to Stage 2, taking the TAP recommendations into account along with the existing NZAGRC funding portfolio and broader New Zealand funding landscape.
• Research projects should be conducted in a manner that ensures the widest possible benefit to New Zealand. Therefore, unless there are strong reasons to protect Intellectual Property, it should be made publicly and freely available.
• Co-funding is strongly encouraged for all applications, and applications involving industry should have significant co-funding.

Proposals are due by 9am 13 April.

More information can be found  HERE.

The NZAGRC – opened in March 2010 – was created to build on existing research, working with existing organisations to create an effective, trusted partnership to bring cost-effective, simple solutions to New Zealand farms, and contribute world leading results to the international science community.

It is a partnership between the leading New Zealand research providers working in the agricultural greenhouse gas area and the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium (PGgRc).

The NZAGRC is a “virtual” centre and the research it funds is carried out by researchers working in their own organisations.

The NZAGRC is physically located on the AgResearch Grasslands Campus in Palmerston North.

It operates a competitive Innovation Fund for researchers working on solutions for reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. The first funding round took place in 2020.

Source:  New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre