Quiz: Is my R&D eligible?

Will you spend between $50,000 and $120m on eligible R&D each year?

Great, you are off to a good start. There are a few more questions to go to determine if your R&D may be eligible.

To be eligible for the RDTI you need to spend more than $50,000 annually on eligible R&D, unless you are using an approved research provider. See Requirements that your business must meet and continue on to answer a few more questions.

To be eligible for the RDTI you can only claim on expenses up to $120,000,000 annually. See Requirements that your business must meet and continue on to answer a few more questions.

Do you do most of your R&D in New Zealand?

Nice. The RDTI's aim is to support more R&D to be conducted in New Zealand.

The RDTI's aim is to support R&D that is mainly done in New Zealand, so we'd need to have a closer look at where you do your R&D. See Requirements that your business must meet.

Will you own the results of your R&D, or have the right to use the results for no extra cost?

Good, it's important that you are able to directly benefit from your R&D, and to do so without paying further fees.

It's important that you are able to directly benefit from your R&D, and to do so without paying further fees. See Requirements that your business must meet.

Is your R&D aimed at creating new knowledge, or new or improved processes, services or goods?

Sounds good! A key purpose of the RDTI is to encourage R&D that has a clear purpose.

To be eligible for the RDTI, your R&D must have a clear purpose that you can articulate. This purpose must involve the creation of new knowledge, or new or improved processes, services or goods. Find out what we mean by new or improved.

Is there a specific scientific or technological challenge or problem you’re trying to overcome as part of your R&D?

Good, the RDTI is designed to support businesses that are trying to resolve a particular scientific or technological uncertainty.

We will need to look a bit deeper into this one, as the RDTI only supports R&D where there’s a particular scientific or technological uncertainty that you’re trying to resolve. Find out more about scientific or technological uncertainty.

Will the challenge or problem be difficult to solve?

While it's hard for you to solve, the RDTI aims to support R&D that pushes boundaries.

Difficulty can be subjective. In the RDTI context, it means that you're trying to overcome a particular scientific or technological problem that you're not even sure can be resolved. The RDTI calls this scientific or technological uncertainty.

Could an expert in the field solve the problem easily?

If a competent professional could easily solve your problem without undertaking a systematic process of investigation, then your R&D may not be eligible for the RDTI. Find out more about what we mean by a competent professional.

If it's difficult for an expert, this could well be the level of challenge the RDTI aims to support.

Would the expert need to follow a structured methodology to come up with a solution?

Good, it's important for the RDTI that an expert would need to follow a structured approach.

The RDTI supports R&D that follows a structured methodology - which we call a "systematic approach" - to test possible solutions. Find out more about what we mean by a systematic approach.

Does any knowledge on how to solve the problem already exist (e.g. within your business or in sources such as journals, on the internet etc.)?

If information on how to resolve your scientific or technological uncertainty is publicly available, your R&D may not be eligible for the RDTI. Find out more about what we mean by publicly available information.

It looks like you may be breaking new ground, which is what we're looking for.

If the knowledge does exist, can you access this existing knowledge for free or by paying a reasonable amount for it?

It looks like you may be breaking new ground, which is what we're looking for.