New Zealand

===Science and technology===

Early indigenous contribution to science in New Zealand was by Māori {{lang|mi|[[tohunga]]}} accumulating knowledge of agricultural practice and the effects of herbal remedies in the treatment of illness and disease.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Voyce|first=Malcolm|date=1989|title=Maori Healers in New Zealand: The Tohunga Suppression Act 1907|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/j.1834-4461.1989.tb02347.x|journal=Oceania|language=en|volume=60|issue=2|pages=99–123|doi=10.1002/j.1834-4461.1989.tb02347.x|issn=1834-4461|access-date=6 April 2021|archive-date=15 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815154547/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/j.1834-4461.1989.tb02347.x|url-status=live}}</ref> [[James Cook|Cook]]'s voyages in the 1700s and [[Charles Darwin|Darwin]]'s in 1835 had important scientific botanical and zoological objectives.<ref name="Science New Zealand">{{cite encyclopedia |editor-first=Alexander |editor-last=McLintock |title=Science – History and Organisation in New Zealand |encyclopedia=An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/science-history-and-organisation-in-new-zealand |date=April 2009 |orig-year=1966 |access-date=14 April 2020 |archive-date=13 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413030902/https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/science-history-and-organisation-in-new-zealand |url-status=live }}</ref> The establishment of universities in the 19th century fostered scientific discoveries by notable New Zealanders including [[Ernest Rutherford]] for splitting the atom, [[Bill Pickering (rocket scientist)|William Pickering]] for rocket science, [[Maurice Wilkins]] for helping discover DNA, [[Beatrice Tinsley]] for galaxy formation, [[Archibald McIndoe]] for plastic surgery, and [[Alan MacDiarmid]] for conducting polymers.<ref name="New Zealand Herald">{{cite web |last=Morton |first=Jamie |title=150 years of Kiwi science |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11830407 |date=5 April 2017 |access-date=14 April 2020 |archive-date=5 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805050855/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11830407 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Crown Research Institute]]s (CRIs) were formed in 1992 from existing government-owned research organisations. Their role is to research and develop new science, knowledge, products and services across the economic, environmental, social and cultural spectrum for the benefit of New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web |title=Crown Research Institutes |url=https://www.mbie.govt.nz/science-and-technology/science-and-innovation/agencies-policies-and-budget-initiatives/research-organisations/cri/ |work=MBIE.Govt.nz |publisher=[[New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment]] |access-date=14 April 2020 |archive-date=27 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527110340/https://www.mbie.govt.nz/science-and-technology/science-and-innovation/agencies-policies-and-budget-initiatives/research-organisations/cri/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The total gross expenditure on [[research and development]] (R&D) as a proportion of GDP rose to 1.37% in 2018, up from 1.23% in 2015. New Zealand ranks 21st in the OECD for its gross R&D spending as a percentage of GDP.<ref>{{cite web |title=Research and development (R&D) – Gross domestic spending on R&D – OECD Data |url=https://data.oecd.org/rd/gross-domestic-spending-on-r-d.htm |publisher=[[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] |access-date=14 April 2020 |date=2018 |archive-date=14 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114013730/https://data.oecd.org/rd/gross-domestic-spending-on-r-d.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> New Zealand was ranked 27th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2023.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=WIPO |title=Global Innovation Index 2023, 15th Edition |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html |access-date=23 October 2023 |website=www.wipo.int |doi=10.34667/tind.46596 |language=en |archive-date=22 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022042128/https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[New Zealand Space Agency]] was created by the government in 2016 for space policy, regulation and sector development. [[Rocket Lab]] was the notable first commercial rocket launcher in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mbie.govt.nz/science-and-technology/space/|title=New Zealand Space Agency &#124; Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment|access-date=7 July 2023|archive-date=30 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530202333/https://www.mbie.govt.nz/science-and-technology/space/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The majority of private and commercial research organisations in New Zealand are focused on the agricultural and fisheries sectors. Examples include the [[Cawthron Institute]], the [[Livestock Improvement Corporation]], the [[Fonterra#Fonterra_Research_and_Development_Centre|Fonterra Research and Development Centre]], the [[New_Zealand_Winegrowers#Bragato_Research_Institute|Bragato Research Institute]], the [[Zespri#Kiwifruit_Breeding_Centre|Kiwifruit Breeding Centre]], and [[Beef_%2B_Lamb_New_Zealand#B+LNZ_Genetics|B+LNZ Genetics]].