Judith Collins, wearing her Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology hat, has launched the new Kitmap initiative. This is billed as "an online directory and database of scientific infrastructure and equipment owned by publicly funded institutes" and is said to be the first in the country.
It is part of a broader initiative led by the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to maximise the potential of the country's scientific and technological research infrastructure.
Access seekers will need to contact that institutions listed on Kitmap to negotiate fees for services. Some are accessible as-a-service, such the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) suite in the Bay of Plenty for analysis of lignocellulosic and other bio-derived materials, and polymers.
In cases where physical access is required, it can be negotiated subject to confidentiality and other requirements that may apply.
Kitmap has several resource categories, including:
- Laboratories: Conventional research rooms/buildings
- Field sites: Physical spaces for non-laboratory research activities
- Livestock facilities: Spaces for rearing or researching livestock, including animals, fish, and insects
- Vessels: Ships or boats equipped for sea research
- Digital collections: Online databases and digital archives
- Computing: Physical computing hardware or virtual networks
- Workshops: Spaces with CNC machinery, tools and equipment for rapid prototyping
- Sample collections: Physical specimen collections
- Monitoring: Networks of monitoring equipment
- Pilot plants: Facilities for pre-commercial production technology trials
All in all, Kitmap currently offers a catalogue of 260 research and development infrastructure items and specialised equipment.
Currently, Wellington has the most items listed on Kitmap, at 207, followed by Bay of Plenty at 104. Canterbury has 38, Otago 32, Waikato 19, Manawatů-Whanganui 8, and Southland 6.
Auckland has none.
Many of these are said to be unique to New Zealand or not easily accessible within the country.
The platform provides a user-friendly interface to access equipment and facilities owned by Crown Research Institutes (CRIs), the National eScience Infrastructure (NeSI), and Callaghan Innovation.
Kitmap includes advanced facilities such as clean rooms, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certified testing facilities, pilot and manufacturing infrastructure, and specialised Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy capabilities.
Callaghan Innovation which delivered and is managing Kitmap said the resources were previously challenging to locate or access, but are now at the fingertips of researchers and innovators across the country.
Stefan Korn, Callaghan's chief executive, said the effort behind Kitmap's development was collaborative, with the agency's colleagues at MBIE having done the heavy lifting to gather the relevant information for the tool.
"As an innovation agency and R&D provider, we are very happy to host and promote Kitmap to support improved collaboration, and optimised resource use across the public sector and beyond," Korn said.
Generative AI (GenAI) functionality could be incorporated into Kitmap in the future too, Korn said, to suggest potential methods and machinery required for rapid prototyping of new products and innovations.
Collins said Kitmap will serve as a one-stop shop to New Zealand science infrastructure, and act as a link between the public and private sector.
She added that on top of giving businesses access to high-end tech for innovation, Kitmap will also generate "crucial revenue" for the public sector which in turn will grow the economy.
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