The Government has selected the University of Otago to lead its new Technology Transfer Voucher scheme, one of the new programs for the business research and development initiative announced in the May Budget.

The University will be one of the first 6 research institutions to be included in the Government’s new voucher scheme.

The vouchers will be awarded to applicant businesses that have a specific research and development project, but little or no in-house R&D capability. The vouchers are intended to give businesses access to research services and expertise for their specific projects.

The Government will match companies’ investments in having the research done at one of the selected research organisations. The vouchers will range from a minimum of $100,000 to a maximum of $1 million.

$20 million has been set aside in the Budget for four years of vouchers, with $5 million available from 2010 to 2011 alone.

The other organisations that have been selected are the University of Auckland, Industrial Re-search, the University of Canterbury, AUT University and the Wellington Institute of Technology.

The programme will be run by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology. The end goal is to boost innovation and business growth, which will benefit all New Zealanders.