Before submitting an application for OS Research funding the research team are expected to:
- seek the appropriate authority within their organisation
- adhere to the assessment criteria and guidelines
- read the following policies and review the OS Research contract.
Whilst OS Research understands there is likely to be some negotiation with each team regarding the contract; the policies are firm. Receipt of an Expression of Interest implies these policies are understood and accepted by the research teams and their organisations.
Contract for OS Research
Statistics New Zealand and the Crown Law Office have written a contract specifically for OS Research. Whilst OS Research acknowledges that there can be some negotiation, this is a relatively secure document as it stands.
OS Research Contract (PDF 57kb)
The contents of this file are in Adobe Acrobat Reader format. If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader you may download the reader to view or print this file.
Role of project sponsors and lead researchers
Project sponsor
It is an OS Research requirement that each project is sponsored by a government department. This is because the government produces official statistics and it is official statistics that OS Research provides funding to support and strengthen.
The Project Sponsor is an individual of management rank or higher in a government agency who has a corporate interest in the research, recognises the need for it to occur and understands the value it will have for the OSS. Therefore, he/she endorses the study by serving as Project Sponsor. Typically this person will be knowledgeable about the subject matter of the proposal and be familiar with statistical and methodological research. The extent of the Project Sponsor's involvement in the actual research and the nature of the relationship between him/her, the Lead Researcher and the team members is up to those parties to negotiate. At the completion of the research, the Project Sponsor is the steward for the ideas and results of the project going forward and is expected to comment on the next steps of the results.
Throughout the duration of the research, the Project Sponsor will be kept up to date on progress through the Lead Researcher's bimonthly briefs. These will be forwarded via OS Research. There will also be two meetings during the life of the project in which the Project Sponsor, Lead Researcher and OS Research meet. The main topics of discussion will be project progress, any initial results, and ideas on how projects can be implemented across the OSS. Once the research has been completed, the Project Sponsor will be instrumental in driving the dissemination and where applicable, implementation of the research into the OSS.
Lead researcher
The Lead Researcher is the primary contact for OS Research and is responsible for the outputs, the quality of the research, the successful execution of the project,and the mentoring of a junior team member (if applicable). As a mentor, the Lead Researcher will transfer knowledge, experience and skill to develop and build the mentee's expertise and understanding of statistical and methodological research. Bi-monthly progress reports are emailed to the lead researcher for completion and returned to OS Research within one week.
Junior researcher
The mentee component of OS Research is no longer mandatory, but if feasible, please include a Junior Researcher in the research team. The Junior Researcher is someone who works at a university or government agency, and needs (or should have) more experience in statistical methodology research. The Junior Researcher should be a person who can benefit from the mentoring and will achieve new knowledge and skill as a result of participation. The idea of the mentoring relationship is for the lead researcher to transfer knowledge and help the Junior Researcher grow in the field.
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Copyright policy
Statistics NZ, under the Crown, seeks to retain copyright in order to ensure the widest possible dissemination and use of research results. Specifically, Statistics NZ retains copyright of the actual research and associated report, but may negotiate copyright of other outputs (eg journal articles and software).
OS Research is a whole of government initiative managed by Statistics NZ that encourages and funds research for the public good. Its purpose is not to support the commercial use of the research outcomes; rather it is a requirement of access to OS Research funding that the research outcomes be made freely available and remain the property of the community through Crown copyright.
Material on this website and in any OS Research funded project, except where indicated, has Crown copyright and is maintained by Statistics NZ. The research may be reproduced for non-commercial use without formal permission provided that the material is reproduced accurately and not used in a derogatory manner or misleading context. Where the material is being published or issued to others, the source and copyright status must be acknowledged. Material on this website and any OS Research funded research may not be used in a commercial context unless the written permission of Statistics NZ is obtained.
Researchers are encouraged to publish the results of any research funded under the OS Research program and the only proviso is acknowledgement of Crown copyright. If a journal requests copyright, Statistics NZ is of the view that the copyright request from any journal will only be for the article itself. We retain copyright for the main output (the final report) as stated in the contract. Also stated in the contract is that Statistics NZ reserves the right to approve any journal article before publication. OS Research will asses such requests within 30 working days. This is to ensure the results submitted to the programme are reflected appropriately in the article.
Statistics NZ believes it is important to track published articles for record keeping and that it is good knowledge to have as the organisation endeavours to promulgate the research and encourages government agencies to apply the findings in their work.
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Disclaimer statement
This disclaimer is to be used in conjunction with all final reports and journal articles:
Official Statistics Research, through Statistics New Zealand, commissioned these reports. The opinions, findings, recommendations and conclusions expressed in the reports are those of the author(s), do not necessarily represent Statistics New Zealand and should not be reported as those of Statistics New Zealand. The department takes no responsibility for any omissions or errors in the information contained in these reports.
Peer reviews
Peer reviews ensure that the work conducted is of publishable quality and that the funders are getting value for money. Those selected as peer reviewers must be independent of the project and have appropriate subject matter and methodological knowledge. Because New Zealand has a small and tight-knit research community, it will often be necessary for peer reviews to be conducted by international experts.
OS Research is responsible for ensuring the peer reviews are conducted. Researchers submitting full proposals for final selection must include the name and contact details of two experts in the field of the suggested research. OS Research will normally ask one of these nominees to conduct a peer review of the final report and findings. Where OS Research is concerned about the independence of the nominees, another expert may be selected by OS Research to peer review the work.
The identity of the peer reviewer that OS Research selected out of the two nominees or another expert will be confidential.
The assessment will be submitted in the form of a report to OS Research. After reading the document OS Research will decide on any course of action based on the review. This could range from asking for edits and specific re-writes to requesting the research be conducted again. The project sponsor and lead researcher will receive the peer review as well and have the opportunity to respond if there are strong objections to what was written. Otherwise it is expected that the peer review will have a positive influence on the work and changes made will only make the research of higher quality.
All projects funded by OS Research will be peer reviewed after the research has been completed.
Purpose of peer reviews
Briefly, the purpose of the peer review is to comment on the quality of work for the funding body and for the researcher(s) who conducted the work.
Objectives for peer review conducted for funding agent:
- What is the overall and technical quality of the work?
- Were the objectives and outcomes/deliverables achieved?
- Was there value for money?
- Is it suitable for publication or does it need further analysis or work?
- If the researcher is asking for more funding, in the reviewer's opinion, should another project or the extension be funded?
Objectives for peer review conducted for the researcher(s):
- What is the overall and specific quality of the work (sound methodology, outcomes achieved, work done well, best practice established, etc)?
- Is it ready for publication or does it need further analysis or work?
- Is there additional related research or research findings that the researcher should consider?
OS Research will be asking peer reviewers to answer all the questions above. A comprehensive evaluation provides the best method of determining the value of the research.
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University overheads policy
As this is a small fund, there is now a limit on how much OS Research will pay in overheads. OS Research will only pay up to 100% in university overheads.
Final report template
Pending successfully completed final reports and overall positive peer reviews, final reports will be published in the Official Statistics Research Series. Researchers must use this template for their final report. Email OS Research to receive an up to date copy.
Further information
Dissemination strategy