SBC - Crown Entities - Health Research Council

Appointments to Health Statutory Bodies
Information on a Particular Statutory Body

Health Research Council

The main functions of the Health Research Council are to:

advise the Minister on national health research policy

administer funds granted to the Council for the purpose of implementing national health policy

foster the recruitment, education, training and retention of those engaged in health research in New Zealand and to initiate and support health research

promote and disseminate the results of health research in ways that will be most effective in encouraging their contribution to health science, health policy and health care delivery

appoint the members of the Biomedical Research Committee, the Public Health Research Committee, the Mäori Health Committee and the Ethics Committee

ensure the development and application of appropriate assessment standards by committees or subcommittees that assess health research proposals

administer any additional funds that may be made available to the Council from either public or private sources for the support of health research.

The composition of the Health Research Council is set out under section 8 (1) of the Health Research Council Act 1990:

Five persons who are or have been actively engaged in health research, and;
Five persons who have skills and experience in areas such as community affairs, health administration, law, or management or knowledge of health issues from a consumer perspective.

Members of the Council are appointed for three years and may be reappointed from time to time. No person is eligible to be a member for more than six consecutive years. The current composition of the Council is attached to this paper as Appendix 2.

The Health Research Council Act 1990 establishes four specific committees, three of which require a member of the Council as chair. In selecting preferred candidates, there is a need to be cognisant of the skills required for each committee and the necessity to appoint suitable Council members so that the HRC has appropriate choices available to chair each committee.

The following committees are established under the Act:

Biomedical Research Committee
Public Health Research Committee
Mäori Health Committee
Ethics Committee

Except for the Ethics Committee, the chairperson of the Biomedical, Public Health and Mäori Health Committees must be a member of the Health Research Council.

For further information about the HRC please visit their website at www.hrc.govt.nz