New Zealand - Singapore Biotech in Future Food Research Programme Call for Proposals 2025

These projects aim to achieve improved sustainability, accessibility, and nutritional profiles for future foods that translate to health and economic impact.

This information gives an overview of the opportunity and outlines MBIE’s requirements for New Zealand based applicant partners.

Applications are submitted through the Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). All funding and application information including the investment objectives, priorities and application information (including proposal template) are outlined in A*Star’s Call for Proposals:

Funding opportunities – A*Star(external link)

About this opportunity

This opportunity is a bilateral initiative funded by the New Zealand and Singapore governments building on the successes in scientific exchange and capabilities development in future foods innovation.

Future foods are defined as innovative food products and ingredients that employ advanced biotechnology solutions in the food manufacturing process to achieve improved sustainability, accessibility, and nutritional profiles compared to traditional food systems.

Proposed projects must identify and address challenges in the research areas of health and nutrition or smart and sustainable processes. Examples of challenge statements of interest include (but are not limited to):

Smart and sustainable processes:

• Developing scalable food processing technologies to enhance taste, texture and nutritional quality in future food products.
• Developing techniques for high-throughput optimization of food manufacturing/precision fermentation bioprocesses.
• Optimising food processing technologies towards net-zero carbon and waste.

Health and nutrition:

• Understanding the health impact of extended consumption of future foods.
• Developing functional foods with enhanced nutritional properties that improve health span.
• Understanding the gut-brain-immune axis and its implications for population health.

Funding available

MBIE has up to NZ$12 million (excluding GST) available for investment over three years through the Catalyst Fund. New Zealand research teams will be able to apply for up to NZ$3 million (excluding GST) per project. Up to 4 research projects will be funded.

Co-funding:

• Co-funding is desirable but not mandatory and may be in cash or in-kind.
• Collaborations with industry partners are highly desirable (though not mandatory).
• Singaporean research teams will be contracted directly via A*STAR and will be funded to an equivalent level.

How funding can be used

What is fundable

Research funding from New Zealand can only be used to fund New Zealand researchers’ activities and reasonable expenses directly related to the project including:

Research activity expenses for:

• personnel
• direct project costs, including consumables required for the project
• indirect costs (overheads) (i.e. operational costs borne by the applicant organisation not covered by the direct costs specified in the project)
• subcontractors.

Research exchange expenses for:

• flights/transport
• accommodation
• travel visas and travel insurance
• meals (excluding alcohol).

Travel costs should not exceed 25% of the budget and all expenditure by individuals should adhere to the rules of the organisation they are affiliated with.

What is not fundable

The research funding must not be used for:

• expenses unrelated to the delivery of the contract
• capital expenditure (unless otherwise agreed in writing with MBIE)
• dealing with accidents or disasters during the term of the contract
• expenses outside any categories listed in the project budget (without prior permission from MBIE)
• Singaporean researcher activities and expenses
• salaries of individuals employed by New Zealand local or central government.

Who can apply

For a proposal to be assessed it must meet the eligibility criteria set out below. Proposals that do not meet all of these criteria will be declined for funding on eligibility grounds.

1. The proposal must be jointly developed by the proposed New Zealand and Singaporean research partners and must involve at least one New Zealand-based Principal Investigator (PI) and one Singapore-based PI.
2. The New Zealand PI must be employed by a New Zealand-based research organisation, or a New Zealand-based legal entity representing a New Zealand-based research organisation.
3. The New Zealand project team is required to confirm they have the agreement from their host institution (for instance from the Research Office) before submitting the proposed research plan.
4. Proposals must not be hosted by or led by a department of the public service as listed in Schedule 2 of the Public Service Act 2020.
5. The proposal must include two separate budgets specifying each country’s contributions. Direct research costs and overall resource contributions (including in-kind) from each country should be approximately equivalent.
6. The proposal must meet all submission timeframes and formatting requirements.
7. Proposals must not benefit a Russian state institution (including but not limited to support for Russian military or security activity) or an organisation outside government that may be perceived as contributing to the war effort.

Applications are open to both public and private New Zealand-based research organisations. Proposals will be assessed against their public benefits and private organisations should clearly indicate how their proposal will benefit New Zealand.

Applicants must not submit multiple applications based on the same project, where the only difference is in the duration of the proposed project, the amount of funding sought, or project team members involved. Should the same project team decide to submit more than one proposal, they must demonstrate significant differences between those proposals. If a project team submits multiple proposals based on the same project, all proposals for that project may be deemed ineligible.

Application information

New Zealand and Singapore applicants must jointly develop a single proposal using the proposal template provided on the A*STAR website.

1. Before developing your proposal, you are encouraged to consider the eligibility criteria, the assessment criteria, and the terms and conditions relating to this opportunity.
2. Applicants submit their joint proposal in Word or PDF by email to A*STAR at A-STAR_FNCC@hq.a-star.edu.sg and copy in MBIE at internationalscience@mbie.govt.nz before the closing date of Friday 28 February 2025, 5pm NZST.

The information in your proposal is used for assessment and will form the basis of the contract for the project if your application is successful.

Key documents

When developing your proposal, we encourage you to consult the following key reference documents:

• Catalyst Fund webpages
• Catalyst Fund Investment Plan 2024 - 2028
• A*STAR webpages(external link)
• Vision Mātauranga

Key dates

All dates and times are New Zealand standard times and are subject to change.

To be notified of any changes subscribe to our Alert e-newsletter.

Subscribe(external link)

Information webinar

A webinar will be held on Monday 9 December 2:30pm – 4:30pm to provide interested parties with information about this research programme including the application, assessment, and decision-making process. This will also be an opportunity for questions and answers.

If you are interested in joining the webinar, register by copying the link below and pasting it into your browser.

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yrZ7h121RcGHcP4U4ZPyZw#/registration

Assessment information

Submitted proposals will undergo the following assessment process.

Assessment stage

• MBIE and A*STAR will perform an eligibility check. 
• Assessors will independently review and score proposals on a 1 – 7 scale for each of the assessment criteria (Impact, Excellence and Connections).
• Each proposal will be independently assessed by 3 to 4 assessors, with consideration given to an appropriate mix of expertise and perspectives across the assessors.
• Scores and comments from the independent assessment of all proposals will be collated by A*STAR and shared with MBIE.

Shortlisting proposals

• The scores from the initial independent assessment stage will form the basis of a shortlist of up to 10 proposals using the highest scoring proposals.
• This shortlist will be approved by the General Manager, Science System Investment and Performance.
• The approved shortlist will go to a moderation meeting.

Assessment panel moderation meeting

• The assessment panel will convene with two co-chairs (1 from MBIE and 1 from A*STAR) for a moderation meeting, to discuss the shortlisted proposals.
• During the moderation meeting the co-chairs will have the ability to clarify the reasons behind individual assessment scores and understand any outlier scoring.
• Based on the discussion at the moderation meeting, the co-chairs will reach agreement on which projects should be recommended for funding.

Conflicts of interest

If you are submitting a proposal, check the list of assessors below for any potential conflicts of interest. If you identify an actual, potential, or perceived direct or indirect conflict of interest, you must notify us before the application closing date by emailing the details for further discussion to internationalscience@mbie.govt.nz.

Conflicts of interest may occur on 2 different levels:

1. A direct conflict of interest, where an assessor is:
   1. directly involved with a proposal (as a participant, manager, mentor, or partner) or has a close personal relationship with the applicant, for example, family members
   2. a collaborator or in some other way involved with an applicant’s proposal.
2. An indirect conflict of interest, where an assessor:
   1. is employed by an organisation involved in a proposal but is not part of the applicant’s proposal
   2. has a personal and/or professional relationship with one of the applicants, for example, an acquaintance
   3. is assessing a proposal under discussion that may compete with their business interests.

Assessors

A*STAR and MBIE will each appoint 4 assessors to the Panel. MBIE appointed assessor names will be published here before 14 February.

Assessment criteria

Assessors will assess proposals on each of the criteria (below) and them score them from 1 (Low quality) to 7 (High quality).

Funding decisions

The General Manager, Science System, Investment and Performance at MBIE will make the final funding decisions on which New Zealand research organisations will receive funding and may:

• set pre-contractual conditions which must be met before the investment is contracted
• set special conditions in addition to the general terms and conditions set out in the Fund’s Funding Contract
• vary the contract title (in consultation with the applicant)
• vary the proposed term of the project
• vary the funding allocated from that proposed
• require the proposed project plan be negotiated to MBIE’s satisfaction to reflect the changed funding.

MBIE will advise all New Zealand applicants of the funding decision by email. Details of the successful projects will be published on MBIE's website.

Contracting, reporting, and monitoring

Contracting

Successful New Zealand research organisations will enter into a funding contract with MBIE subject to any special conditions being met. Check the funding contract template in the key documents section.

Payments

The contract holder must manage the approved funding to ensure delivery of the contracted project. Subject to specific contract conditions, and the contract being signed by both parties.

Payments will be made in equal quarterly instalments from the start of the contract.

All funding will be paid in New Zealand dollars to New Zealand-based bank accounts (no international financial transfers). Any foreign currency transactions will be the responsibility of the New Zealand research organisation(s).

Reporting and monitoring

Funded organisations will be required to submit an annual progress report and a final report at the end of the contract. All reporting with be done in Pītau – MBIE’s online Investment Management System.

Annual reports will include:

• overview and highlights
• status of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• update on collaboration
• potential risks
• expenditure summary
• plans for the next reporting period.

New Zealand contract holders may be required to show evidence of an IP agreement with their Singaporean partner by the end of the first year.

All reports will be shared with A*STAR.