Crown Research Institutes

In the New Zealand state sector, a Crown Research Institute or CRI consists of a State-owned, semi-commercialised entity charged with conducting scientific research.

Crown Research Institutes date from 1992, with most having been created out of the old Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). The dissolution of the DSIR, along with the requirement that the CRIs be "financially viable" and operate on semi-commercial lines, created a certain amount of resentment among some scientists.

Government Cabinet Ministers hold the controlling shares of all CRIs, and Cabinet appoints a Board.

Current CRIs are:

• New Zealand Pastoral Agriculture Research Institute (AgResearch)
• New Zealand Institute for Crop and Food Research
• Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR)
• New Zealand Forest Research Institute
• Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS)
• Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand (HortResearch)
• Industrial Research Limited (IRL)
• Landcare Research
• National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

Another CRI, the Institute For Social Research and Development, was disestablished in 1995 after failing to achieve financial viability.