Biennial Contestable Grants Programme
Allocation Process
Every two years EQC carries out a contestable grants programme of public good research. Individuals or groups engaged in research that meets EQC preferred criteria are invited to apply. Applications in the form of a project outline are publicly invited during March of each odd numbered year, and assessed according to the following process and timetable.
Every effort is made by the Commission to ensure that the selection process is fair. In the absence of specialist knowledge within the Commission in the various fields in which grants may be awarded, a Panel with expert knowledge is established to assist EQC to evaluate the applications.
Detailed proposals are peer reviewed and a final selection is evaluated by the Panel and recommended to the EQC Research Committee. Recommended proposals are submitted to the EQC Board for approval of the funding requests, and funding agreements are then concluded with successful applicants.
Research Priorities
For the purposes of evaluating proposals submitted under the biennial grants programme, EQC considers research to be:
A process of systematic and critical inquiry in order to discover, collate and interpret, facts, events or behaviours, leading towards increased understanding and new or improved applications of information, know-how or technology.
EQC will fund research that contributes to one or more of the four Research Themes and Topic Areas. The listed themes and topics have been derived from a review of EQC’s historical research investments, consideration of global trends, natural hazards research and risk pricing and feedback from researchers and end-users attending research forums and planning workshops, sponsored by EQC and other end users.
General Criteria
The following criteria are intended as a guide for whether a project qualifies for consideration in the biennial grants programme, regardless of the topic under which the proposal may be assessed. The meeting of one of the criteria in the first set will be sufficient qualification, so long as none of the second set of factors is present.
Qualifying Criteria:
- Is of relevance and importance to the specific research field and likely either to add significantly to the body of knowledge or have a positive influence on matters relevant to natural disaster damage or methods of reducing or preventing natural disaster damage.
- The research is addressing issues of national or local significance to the general understanding of natural disaster risk, with outcomes likely to yield significant benefit to New Zealand communities. The Earthquake Commission Act defines "natural disaster" as an earthquake, natural landslip, volcanic eruption, hydrothermal activity, or tsunami; fire following any of the above; or, in the case only of residential land, a storm or flood.
- Usefully collates existing work in a form more accessible to, or applicable by, other researchers and practitioners.
- Helps develop new applications or extends existing techniques or methods relevant to natural disaster damage or for reducing or preventing natural disaster damage.
Disqualifying criteria:
- Does not meet EQC’s definition of research.
- About “natural disaster damage” which is outside the scope of the Earthquake Commission Act (see Section 2 of the Act, definitions of "natural disaster", "natural disaster damage", "natural disaster fire" and "natural landslip").
- Inadequate research and development content.
- To be carried out entirely outside New Zealand.
- To be carried out primarily as a student research project. Student involvement is encouraged, but research activity must extend substantially beyond the student involvement.
- Work only likely to better inform one applicant on his/her/their topic.
- An actual or close replication of work already completed.
- Work that the applicants are not prepared to place in the public domain.
- Research, the funding of which could oblige EQC to provide separate funding for further, or parallel, projects.
- Detrimental to EQC’s reputation as a facilitator of high quality research.
- Work that more relevantly falls to an organisation other than EQC to fund.
Other Considerations
Proposals to the value of $50,000 or less are preferred; larger projects may be considered if it can be demonstrated that they are of exceptional significance. In some previous cases the integration of several smaller proposals has been recommended.
Any one researcher may be named as a project leader on no more than two (2) proposals in the same biennial round.
Any one researcher may be involved in no more than four (4) proposals.
In its evaluation of proposals, EQC and its Research Panel will also have regard to issues such as:
- Whether the applicant has delivered past research under this programme according to agreed milestones.
- The level of collaboration across agency and/or discipline boundaries.
- The scope for consistent involvement and mentoring of students and younger practitioners.
- The potential risk for established researchers or groups to exclude new entrants or new ideas.
- How the results of the proposed research may be transferred, understood and applied by research peers, practitioners and other end-users.
Downloads
The following downloads are available. Contact the EQC to discuss the contents of any document or to request an accessible format.
Outline Research Proposal Form (PDF 18kb)
Outline Research Proposal Form (Word 151kb)
This document is used to supply the Commission with an outline of your research proposal. The document must be printed, filled out and mailed to the Earthquake Commission.
Detailed Proposal Form (Word 164kb)
Detailed Proposal Form (PDF 28kb)
Specimen Funding Agreement (PDF 146kb)
This document shows a specimen of a funding agreement which documents the term of agreement, the research grant, progress reports, materials and apparatus purchased with the grant, the requirements of the final report, peer review, the status of intellectual property, termination and dispute resolution options and general and special conditions.