A catch-44 is a situation where funding and support is said to be available from government bodies however defining eligibility for the funding and how to properly articulate the application restricts access by those that most require it.
The term was coined by Hayden Stowell in 2015 in his frustration to establish eligibility for research and development funding from Callaghan Innovation, a Crown entity of New Zealand with the task of making New Zealand business more innovative.
This dilemma further exasperated the fast growing indigenous māori tech start-up community with other Crown entities following suit with confusing and poorly articulated application questionnaires combined with frustratingly inefficient systems to qualify and process submitted applications.
Although conceived in jest based on the paradoxical Catch 22 phrase, the seriousness and frequency of similar dilemma’s saw the phrase become widely adopted in other parts of the world. Catch 44 is now a widely used phrase to describe any situation where funding or valuable contracts have been promoted by either the government or public sectors, however securing them seems virtually un-achievable to all but a very select few for the reasons mentioned above.
The term was coined by Hayden Stowell in 2015 in his frustration to establish eligibility for research and development funding from Callaghan Innovation, a Crown entity of New Zealand with the task of making New Zealand business more innovative.
This dilemma further exasperated the fast growing indigenous māori tech start-up community with other Crown entities following suit with confusing and poorly articulated application questionnaires combined with frustratingly inefficient systems to qualify and process submitted applications.
Although conceived in jest based on the paradoxical Catch 22 phrase, the seriousness and frequency of similar dilemma’s saw the phrase become widely adopted in other parts of the world. Catch 44 is now a widely used phrase to describe any situation where funding or valuable contracts have been promoted by either the government or public sectors, however securing them seems virtually un-achievable to all but a very select few for the reasons mentioned above.
"The state government constantly says how there is significant funding available for projects such as ours. The catch 44 is that it is virtually impossible to secure due to how complicated the application process is."
by Liddle_Razkal July 16, 2018
Get the Catch 44mug. Person 1: Are you addicted to abscesses?
Person 2: Yes.
Person 1: Asexual (+: A catch-all for all other identities and orientations not covered by the specific letters.)
Person 2: Yes.
Person 1: Asexual (+: A catch-all for all other identities and orientations not covered by the specific letters.)
by Abreathofaversaillian January 20, 2025
Get the Asexual (+: A catch-all for all other identities and orientations not covered by the specific letters.)mug. To catch the crazy turkey is the act of having sexual intercourse while making turkey noises. There is much more depth to the act; however, little is known, so just some vague facts are spread with certainty, some of them being that it starts with a wild turkey, and ends with sex in a bed, and somewhere in the middle there is the need to kill a chicken.
by Rasus January 31, 2015
Get the to catch the crazy turkeymug. when you hit your homies vape and it hits the back of your throat wrong causing you to cough and really feel that shit in the back of your throat and it will stick there even after drinking water.
im not referring to spitting so the term catching clouds was created to explain this problem but was shortened to catch or caught.
im not referring to spitting so the term catching clouds was created to explain this problem but was shortened to catch or caught.
person 1. Awe dude my throats killing me it didn't spit, i think i caught that.
Person 2. Yeahh you be catching clouds son
Person 2. Yeahh you be catching clouds son
by D4z1b013000 May 18, 2022
Get the Catching cloudsmug. to go to bed
by pinkpjs0624 April 12, 2011
Get the catch those z'smug. a nicer way of telling someone, " stop being a stupid porchdog and at least try to give me a decent counter argument"
When you say catch me if you can to someone, you can't be considered a pundit because you'd know that what you said is true, it's on the other person to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they are indeed not a porchdog.
by Sexydimma October 2, 2016
Get the catch me if you canmug. by StacerTG June 13, 2025
Get the Cooch Catchmug.