Current open call
Catalyst: Seeding Hōngongoi July 2026 Call is now open.
On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Royal Society Te Apārangi has opened the Hōngongoi July 2026 Call.
Call for Catalyst: Seeding.
Catalyst: Seeding facilitates new small to medium pre-research strategic partnerships with international partners that cannot be supported through other means, and with a view to developing full collaborations that could be supported through other research funding mechanisms, including those administered by the Ministry.
For detailed information on open funding opportunities, please refer to the Catalyst Seeding Guidelines available below.
Funding Available
|
Programme |
||||
|
Type |
Partner |
Application(s) Required |
Allowable expenses |
NZ$ Funding |
|
General* |
International |
New Zealand |
Travel, research expenses, expenses related to hosting workshops |
Up to $80,000 in total for up to two years |
|
New Zealand |
Japan | New Zealand and Japan | Travel, research expenses, expenses related to hosting meetings |
Up to $60,000 in total for up to two years |
*Catalyst Fund priority research areas apply.
Eligibility
- The Proposal must be made by a New Zealand-based research organisation or their representing legal entity, unless otherwise agreed by the Society
- Applications for New Zealand – Japan Joint Research Projects must be accompanied by a Japanese partner proposal
Priority research areas
The Catalyst Fund investment plan released in December 2024, identifies six priority
research areas for the Fund. These are:
- Quantum technology
- Health and biomedicine
- Biotechnologies
- Artificial Intelligence
- Antarctic research
- Space and Earth observations
Subject to the number and quality of submitted applications, 75% of awarded Catalyst: Seeding contracts must align with the Catalyst Fund priority research areas, unless otherwise noted in the specific programme requirement for each Sub-Programme. The remaining 25% of awarded contracts can be in any field of research (including social sciences and the humanities).
For the current call, the aim to award 75% of new contracts for projects aligning with a Catalyst Fund research priority applies to Catalyst: Seeding General but not to the New Zealand - Japan Joint Research Projects.
Closing Date
Applications to all programmes for the Hōngongoi July Call 2026 are now open.
Closing Date: Thursday 22 Whiringa-ā-Nuku October 2026, 12:00pm Noon (NZST).
Submit an Application
- Applications to all programmes must be made to the Royal Society Te Apārangi via the Catalyst: Portal. Please contact your Research Office for a nomination to submit a proposal.
- Templates are available for downloading via the Catalyst: Portal
- Please read carefully the Catalyst: Seeding Guidelines
- For inquiries, please contact International.Applications@royalsociety.org.nz