Research

The current research priorities are covered in the research strategy. While we don’t restrict any proposals from being submitted, the priorities set by the sub-committee and the availability of funds will determine whether a project will be funded.

Research proposals should be submitted in the Research Proposal format (PDF format | Word format). This form is also available as an online form >>

Important dates 

The key 2025 dates for allocating funding are provided in the table below. At times, project can be funded outside of this normal cycle. If you think your project warrant separate consideration please contact the Research team at research@deernz.org to discuss the options.

Many of the reports from industry funded research are available here >>

If there is something you can’t find, please reach out to DINZ at research@deernz.org and we will do our best to help you.

Peer review is an important part of making sure conclusions from research are valid and justified. For this reason, much of the industry funded work is also published in scientific journals, in part or in whole.

Research is one of the key areas that is recognised as a strategic focus to help DINZ lead a confident industry into the future. The Board has established a sub-committee to oversee all of the industry’s research investments. The sub-committee is responsible for setting the Research Strategy, and the priority areas for research, as well as approving and monitoring each year’s research plan. 
DINZ research strategy can be found here >> 

To deliver the research, the committee is supported by the Executive and the Research Advisory Panel. While the Executive is responsible for the day-to-day work in commissioning and monitoring the research, the Research Advisory Panel is providing advice to both the sub-committee and the Executive.  

Based on feedback from the wider industry, academia, and interest groups, the Research Advisory Panel identifies research priorities and feeds those to the sub-committee. The Panel is also the body that evaluates and prioritises research proposals against the research strategy and priorities, as well as sense checking the research outputs to ensure they are credible and practicable. Once research projects are completed, the Panel undertakes an evaluation of each project against the initial proposal to identify any improvements that can be made to the process.  

The current members of the Research Panel are:

• Rhys Griffiths, DINZ  
• Danette McKeown, DFA  
• Richard Hilson, DFA  
• Dave Lawrence, Independent  
• Alastair Nichol, Independent  
• Sharon McIntyre, DINZ
• Megan Skiffington, AgResearch

The commissioning process is outlined here >> 

Deer Industry New Zealand, and the Deer Industry New Zealand Research Trust, fund research to improve understanding of farming deer, and improve the quality of our products.   Through a management agreement, DINZ manages the routine affairs for the Trust and investment decisions are made on the basis of affordability and whether the research aligns with the conditions of the Trust’s deed. 

Other funding sources include MPI funds, such as the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund, MBIE funds, such as Catalyst funding, and other funds such as university funds or the Royal Society.    AgResearch also undertakes research into deer farming in New Zealand.

DINZ considers research an iterative process guided by industry priorities. Prior research identifies opportunities which can then develop into project proposals. A key part of project proposals is to outline not just the value to industry and how results will be made available to farmers, processors, or other industry participants, but also how a project fits in with the bigger picture. This allows for longer-term planning for pipelines or research rather than just short-term projects. As for any project, reviewing it at the end to assess how it worked and what difference a project made to the industry is critical.

Industry good

An individual business can carry out research into how to improve their own operation that may not be applicable to other businesses, DINZ considers that the use of pooled levy and Crown funding is best applied where it can bring about value for a significant segment of the industry and those businesses would not invest in the work in question, whether individually or together.  This type of research is called "industry-good".

By being a 'neutral' commissioner, DINZ can ensure that work is designed to take account of the diversity of industry participants and does not favour one commercial business over another. DINZ can also apply specialist research management skills that it would not be efficient for individual businesses to engage.

High impact

High impact work needs to be proposals that aim to deliver significantly to the industry.  Forecasting the impact of new research is a difficult science, but impact assessments are required to enable the funders to prioritise between research recommendations.  

Research subject matter

DINZ does not mandate any particular type of work that it will fund, however, the priorities set by the sub-committee will guide the allocation of funds to different projects. Earlier projects have covered themes such as farm system efficiency, nutrition, animal health and welfare, understanding and mitigating environmental impacts, optimising breeding strategies and techniques, supporting genetic selection to meet industry and farm system breeding objectives, product processing techniques, understanding product composition and properties and improving product quality.

Project duration

It is likely that research will continue to span the spectrum of research horizons from near-time (highly applied), medium-term and long-term projects.  The number and cash value of the medium-and long-term projects industry invests in, will determine the amount available for new projects every year.

Venison vs velvet

There is no split in funding for velvet versus venison research. We are an integrated industry with almost every farm producing both venison and velvet and the balance of industry value received from venison and velvet is constantly changing, so there is no obvious reason to set aside funding amounts.