The results of the 2025 New Zealand Association of Scientists and Technologists add a wealth of information, and an update, to the information already provided by the 1995 and 2008 surveys in exploring the demographics, attitudes, accomplishments and concerns of the science and technology workforce in New Zealand in 2025. This information is designed to help inform and measure science
related policy in New Zealand, to provide information that will enhance public understanding of science and technology, and to serve as a voice for the scientific community. This report closes with some candid free-form comments from survey participants.
Some key findings from the survey are described below.
1. The greatest concern for scientists, in this and all previous surveys, has been interruptions in research funding. The second and third greatest concerns in 2025, are the overpoliticisation of research and lack of public understanding of science & technology.
2. Job security varies significantly across sectors with the following proportions feeling their job was secure; government (71.7%), industry (66.7%), universities (36.8%) and CRIs (30.3%). A similar pattern is observed with job satisfaction.
3. Scientists are also concerned about dis- and misinformation (89.4%), and a lack of accurate and unbiased reporting of science in the media (50.9%).
4. Scientists’ confidence in the government is low with only 12.8% believing that New Zealand is heading in the right direction and only 15.1% believing that the government should define the research agenda.
5. Scientists belief that government science strategy is open and inclusive has decreased from 13.6% in 2008 to 5.6%.
6. A slight majority of scientists (52.5%) disagree that scientists should be neutral and not engage in political debates.
7. A vast majority of scientists agree that fundamental scientific research is important (94.8%), and that it is difficult to guarantee the result of research in advance (87.7%).
8. A majority of scientists (62.6%) also agree that New Zealand should be the primary beneficiary of scientific advances funded by New Zealand.
9. Three quarters of scientists (74.8%) do not support the removal of funding for the humanities & social sciences from the Marsden fund.
10. The percentage of women represented has increased with each survey. In 1996 22.8% of respondents identified as female, compared with 28.8% in 2008 and 47.6% in 2025.
11. Māori participation has also increased across time from 0.7% in 1996 and 1.7% in 2008 to 4.1% in 2025.
12. Overall, scientists support many of the initiatives introduced during the Covid pandemic (vaccinations, masks) as appropriate and informed by science.
13. A small proportion (3.3%) did not agree that increasing levels of human induced atmospheric carbon dioxide is the main cause of climate change.
14. A majority of scientists support the use of genetic modifications (GM) outside of laboratories (59.7%) with a smaller proportion (16.1%) in disagreement.