Fight to retain leading scientists

New Zealand research organisations are fighting back to stem the loss of top scientific brains in a "talent war" with overseas employers.

Crown research institutes (CRIs) are putting money aside to boost the pay of those tempted by more lucrative prospects overseas.

Science New Zealand, which represents the country's eight CRIs, was unable to put a precise figure on how many researchers had been poached in the past year but it was believed to be at least a dozen.

Chief executive Anthony Scott said CRIs were "very concerned" about the losses and were prepared to pay higher salaries to keep staff in New Zealand.

Statistics New Zealand has released figures showing the CRIs' collective operating surplus in the year ended June 30, 2008, was $27.1 million, up from the previous year's $22.8m.

Scott said $818,000 of that was paid in dividends to the Crown, with the remaining $26.3m retained by the institutes to reinvest in staff, their businesses and facilities.

"Quite a number have now put a real commitment into increasing staff salaries.

"We are now into a global talent war and some areas of science in which New Zealand excels have become newly urgent around the world, such as climate change and the environmental sciences. So people just look where are the best (scientists) in the world; they see New Zealand there and start poaching.

"We are having to buy on the global market. There's constant competition it won't take much to turn a trickle into a flood. They have better salaries and facilities (overseas)."

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) and AgResearch were among those putting retained funds into salaries, with Niwa spending $6m alone in the past financial year on two "hefty" pay rises for staff, Scott said.

Three CRIs AgResearch, HortResearch and IRL had not paid a dividend last year but had in previous years.

Monday was the first day for new CRI Plant & Food Research, formed from the merger of Crop & Food Research and HortResearch.

It was clear boards and management would recommend mergers if that was the best way to improve research efforts, he said.

"Science is dynamic, the many sectors that crown research institutes serve are dynamic, and business is dynamic. So the ways in which each CRI serves New Zealand are also very dynamic."

New Research, Science and Technology Minister Wayne Mapp said the merger was a "milestone in New Zealand's science history".

"The merger has combined knowledge and expertise in nationally important areas of sustainable production, elite genetics, and food and health, which were previously segregated. The critical mass created through the merger is internationally significant and therefore is expected to generate significant research outcomes."

Horticulture New Zealand president Andrew Fenton said the merger would help achieve the goal it had set for the industry to achieve total value of $10 billion by 2020.

- © Fairfax NZ News