R&D - Current and capital research and development expenditure by industry 2012–2024
Stats NZ
Definitions
Research and development (R&D): R&D performed by enterprises are generally investigative work that is of actual or potential use in the development of new or enhanced materials, products, devices, processes, or services. R&D directed towards duplicating work already developed by others is only included if the knowledge or technology required for the development is not available to the enterprise.
Current expenditure: for purpose of R&D, this is expenditure on labour costs and other current costs (including costs for external R&D personnel); services and items (including equipment) used and consumed within one year; and annual fees or rents for the use f fixed asset. Current expenditure is classified into two components – wages and salaries and other current expenditure.
Other current expenditure: includes expenditure on consumables, overheads (including rent and travel), wages and salaries for staff indirectly supporting R&D (e.g. central finance or cleaning services), on-site consultants or contract staff, and operating leases. Depreciation is not included.
Wages and salaries: expenditure on wages and salaries for personnel performing R&D (including staff directly supporting R&D). Includes overtime, ACC, fringe benefits, redundancy, severance payments, and other related costs.
Data calculation/treatment
The R&D Survey 2024 was posted out to respondents in August 2024, and was collected up until December 2024.
For more information
Inclusions
Only businesses that Stats NZ pre-identified as carrying out R&D are included. The business sector includes central and local government-owned trading enterprises.
The government sector excludes central and local government-owned trading enterprises but includes scientific research.
The higher education sector includes 8 universities (and their commercial arms).
Changes to data collection/processing
In 2019, 2021, and 2023, special iterations of the R&D survey were conducted for the business sector only.
The R&D survey has been conducted by Stats NZ since 2006. However, due to major survey changes, only data from 2016 onwards is directly comparable.
The government and higher education sectors are surveyed every two years and are included in the 2024 survey.
Data provided by
Dataset name
Research and Development Survey: Percent of current and capital research and development expenditure by industry (Annual-Jun) 2024
Webpage:
https://infoshare.stats.govt.nz/
How to find the data
At URL provided, select 'Industry sectors > Research and Development survey - RAD > Percent of current and capital research and development expenditure by industry'. All variables were selected to create this dataset.
Import & extraction details
File as imported: Research and Development Survey: Percent of current and capital research and development expenditure by industry (Annual-Jun) 2024
From the dataset Research and Development Survey: Percent of current and capital research and development expenditure by industry (Annual-Jun) 2024, this data was extracted:
- Rows: 4-16
- Columns: 2-127
- Provided: 630 data points
Dataset originally released on:
April 23, 2025
About this dataset
The Research and Development Survey, conducted every two years, is a joint survey with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The survey measures the level of research and development (R&D) activity, employment, and expenditure by business sector enterprises, government departments, government-owned trading entities, and universities.
Method of collection/Data provider
The R&D Survey is a postal survey consisting of four questionnaires: a business questionnaire, a government questionnaire, a CRI questionnaire, and a higher education (universities) questionnaire. These questionnaires are specifically designed to capture data on R&D from these different organisation types.
Every two years, including 2024, all three sectors are surveyed. In 2019, 2021, and 2023, the survey was conducted for the business sector only.