Cancer is New Zealand's leading cause of death. New Zealand has strong cancer research capability at its universities, and the Health Research Council is the primary public funder. This guide covers the key funding sources for cancer research in New Zealand.
HRC is the primary public cancer research funder:
- Project Grants: 3-year research projects — most competitive programme
- Emerging Researcher First Grant: First independent grant for early career researchers
- Programme Grants: 5-year programmes for established researchers
- Clinical Trials Research Group: Cancer clinical trial support
- Pacific Health Research: Cancer research for Pacific communities
- Māori Health Research: Cancer research for Māori
HRC is highly competitive — strong grant applications with clear impact pathways are essential.
Cancer Society NZ funds research:
- Research grants: Applied cancer research
- Summer studentships: Medical student cancer research
- Māori and Pacific cancer: Equity-focused research
- Psychosocial research: Quality of life and supportive care
Te Aho o Te Kahu coordinates cancer control:
- National cancer plan implementation
- Research priority setting
- Data and outcomes measurement
Cure Kids funds childhood cancer research:
- Paediatric cancer research grants
- Research into childhood leukaemia, brain tumours, and solid tumours
Cancer-specific research funders:
- Breast Cancer Foundation NZ: Breast cancer research and awareness
- Prostate Cancer Foundation NZ: Prostate research
- Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ: Blood cancer research
- Melanoma Foundation: Skin cancer research
University-based cancer research:
- Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre (ACSRC): Drug discovery and clinical trials
- Malaghan Institute: Cancer immunology and immunotherapy
- University of Otago: Cancer epidemiology and clinical research
- Victoria University of Wellington: Cancer biology
MBIE Endeavour Fund funds cancer research:
- High-risk, high-reward cancer science
- Translational cancer research with commercial potential
- Cancer technology development
NZ cancer research internationally:
- Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG): Trans-Tasman clinical trials
- Australia New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group: Prostate trials
- ALLG: Haematology trials
- ANZTCT: Trans-Tasman clinical trial collaboration
High-priority cancer research areas in NZ:
- Colorectal cancer: High incidence in NZ — surgery and systemic therapy
- Melanoma: Particularly relevant to NZ's sun exposure
- Lung cancer: High Māori incidence — immunotherapy and early detection
- Breast cancer: National breast screening and treatment innovation
- Prostate cancer: Active surveillance vs treatment research
- Cervical cancer: HPV vaccine and screening impact
Cancer equity research:
- HRC Māori and Pacific: Equity-focused research funding
- Te Puni Kōkiri: Māori cancer outcomes research
- Ministry for Pacific Peoples: Pacific cancer equity
Māori have higher cancer incidence and worse outcomes — equity research is a national priority.
Strong applications demonstrate:
- Scientific quality: Robust methodology and clear hypothesis
- Impact pathway: How research will improve cancer outcomes
- Research team: Track record of cancer research publications
- Ethics: Ethics approval pathway for human research
- Equity: Māori and Pacific cancer equity consideration
- Translation: How basic research will reach patients
- Budget: Realistic and justified research budget
- Partnerships: Clinical-research partnerships and consumer involvement
Tahua's grants management platform helps cancer research organisations manage grant applications across HRC, Cancer Society NZ, MBIE, and cancer foundations, tracking research outputs, clinical trial enrolment, and translational outcomes.