Some high-tech companies say government-funded research is a waste of time and it needs to be more focused on their needs, according to Manufacturing New Zealand.
Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy at the announcement of a new disease testing laboratory. Photo: RNZ
The government's first national science strategy, published last May, set out its priorities for the next 10 years.
But Manufacturing New Zealand says it is not focused enough on business.
Its executive director, Catherine Beard, said some of the biggest and most successful high-tech exporters want Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) to change the way they work.
"So instead of coming up with something that they want to push out for commercialisation, they actually flip that around, and go looking for the problems and see if they can find the solutions."
However, the National Association of Scientists says it is concerned there is already too much of a push for all of the science system to be engaged in commercial activity.
The association's president, Dr Nicola Gaston, said the government's push to tie business and science closer together by creating the Ministry for Business and Innovation (MBIE) was damaging the relationship.
"That has very internationally tried to bring business and science closer together but I think there are issues with that, in that big parts of our science funding are now seen to be business funding of a sort. That has implications for how much science we actually manage to do."
Dr Gaston said idea-generating research could be killed off if all work had to have a commercial partner.