Against the Odds: How PTE Practitioners Secure Competitive Research Funding without Dedicated Infrastructure – An Evaluator’s Perspective

In Aotearoa New Zealand’s tertiary education landscape, Private Training Establishments (PTEs) typically operate without the research infrastructure available in universities. They often lack access to dedicated research offices, professional grant writing support, and formally allocated research time. Despite these structural limitations, PTE educators have successfully secured competitive research funding through opportunities such as Ako Aotearoa Research and Innovation Agenda (AARIA). This presentation shares insights from an evaluator’s perspective on how these outcomes were achieved and how they can be applied more broadly. Drawing on data and case studies from the 2024 and 2025 AARIA Contestable Funding Rounds, the session explores what enabled these proposals to succeed and offers practical lessons for educators and leaders across the sector.