The Biennial Grants programme is a competitive grant round with a budget of about $1 million over two years. These grants are ideal for researchers doing targeted projects that improve New Zealand’s resilience to natural hazards, aligned with our Research Investment Priorities Statement.
We have provided over $13.5 million in funding for more than 300 projects through the biennial grants round since they began in 1989.
For the 2024 round, approximately $1.1 million in funding was allocated to 15 projects, and in our most recent round in 2026, approximately $1.2 million was awarded to 13 projects. Our biennial grants go up to $100,000 excl. GST per project.
2026-2028 biennial grants
See the list of biennial grant research projects for 2026-28.
Applying for a biennial grant
We are not currently accepting applications for Biennial grants. Our next funding round for Biennial grants will open in late 2027, for projects starting in 2028.
In the meantime, you can read more about the full process, eligibility, and how to apply in the documents below.
Biennial guidelines for applicants [PDF, 1.1 MB]
Funding guidance [PDF, 760 KB]
Expression of interest (EOI) template [PDF, 60 KB]
Full application template [DOCX, 331 KB]
Budget template [XLSX, 67 KB]
Research Funding Agreement template [DOCX, 184 KB]
Or download all the above documents as a zip file: Applying for biennials zip file [ZIP, 2.4 MB]
Sign up for updates
If you have any questions or would like to join our research mailing list to receive updates on funding opportunities, please email us at research@naturalhazards.govt.nz.