New Zealand recovered well from the global crisis and is currently enjoying a strong and broad economic expansion and high wellbeing (OECD, 2016). Nevertheless, as an export-oriented economy that still relies heavily on the primary sector, there is room for diversification and the government is seeking to spur further investment in high-value manufacturing and services sectors through its actions in science and innovation. Investments in knowledge have been growing substantially since the crisis – public investments in science and innovation increased by 60% since 2007-08 and are expected to expand in the coming years. Yet, investment in R&D still remains low compared to the OECD average (GERD was only 1.15% of GDP in 2013 – down from 1.25% in 2009) and is lower compared to leading small OECD economies such as Finland, Israel and Sweden. Increasing investment in R&D and complementary intangible assets such as firm-specific skills, data and new organisational processes is a key challenge given that that up to 40% of New Zealand’s productivity gap (when compared with the OECD average) could be the result of low investment in knowledge-based capital (OECD, 2015). To help address this challenge, New Zealand has committed to reinforcing investments in research and innovation. Through its Budget 2016, the Government is investing NZD 410.5 million over four years in science and innovation through the Innovative New Zealand package. By 2020, the annual investment in science and innovation will have increased by 15% to NZD 1.6 billion per year. This is one of the largest single investments in science and innovation in New Zealand’s history.