NWO
The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) is an organisation that provides funding for Dutch researchers. NWO defined multiple domains, representing multiple scientific fields: Social Sciences and Humanities, Applied and Engineering Sciences, Science and Health Research and Development (ZonMw).
Each pillar funds research through multiple programmes. Life Sciences applications are usually within the aim of the pillar Applied and Engineering Sciences. Programmes that fund research in this domain are:
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- Public-Private Partnership, such as the programmes Perspectief, Partnership and Demonstrator
- Application oriented research, via the Open Technology Programme and the Open Mind programme
- Stimulating activity and entrepreneurship within research facilities, via the Take-off programme
- Research Talent via Rubicon, the Talent Scheme (Veni, Vidi, Vici)
- Strategic programming (including the Top Sectors and the Dutch National Research Agenda – NWA)
NWO grants
NWO – Vidi
Deadline: Full proposal 8 April 2025
Funding: €850K
Funding rate: 100%
Project duration: 5 years
Consortium: Main applicant should hold a PhD and be employed in Dutch research institute / university
Scope: The Vidi grant, part of the NWO Talent Programme, is aimed at experienced researchers who are ready to establish or expand their own research group. NWO aims to support researchers to develop, test and implement innovative ways of making research open, accessible, transparent and reusable, covering the whole range of Open Science.
NWO KIC Long Term Programmes
Deadline:
Letter of intent: 15 April 2025
Full proposal: 14 October 2025
Subsidy: €9M – €25M
Scope: Within the Strategy main line, NWO promotes socio-scientific cooperation in a number of long-term programmes (LTP). The strategic aim of an LTP is to vigorously promote the long-term national development of a scientific field in the Netherlands. Strong public-private consortia are invited to jointly set up a long-term programme. Funding can be applied for from NWO for the research project that is part of this long-term programme.
NWO KIC: Together for a better life with inherited heart disease
Deadline:
Pre-proposal: 24 September 2024
Full proposal: 27 May 2025
Subsidy: €7,816,000
Scope: The aim of this call is to fund research improving early detection, risk prediction, and new treatments for hereditary heart diseases. It focuses on three interconnected sub-themes:
- Early detection: Enhance identification of hereditary heart diseases through improved post-mortem practices and family screening.
- Risk prediction: Develop better methods to predict symptom onset and progression, optimizing treatment decisions and care.
- Therapy: Advance treatment options, including gene therapies, to improve survival rates and quality of life for patients.
Take Off Fase 1: Haalbaarheidsstudie
Deadline:
Pre-proposal: 4 February 2025
Full proposal: 4 March 2025
Subsidy: €50K
Scope: Take-off is a science-based financing instrument from ZonMw and NWO (Secretariat: Applied and Technical Sciences). Take-off is funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Take-off focuses on facilitating and stimulating business and entrepreneurship from Dutch universities and NWO-recognized research institutes. It is about creating innovative new business that follows knowledge development and utilization by researchers at these knowledge institutions. It may be product, process, care or service innovation in the broadest sense of the word, within all fields of science (beta / technique, life sciences and alpha / gamma).
Take Off Fase 2: Vroegefasetrajecten
Deadline:
Pre-proposal: 4 February 2025
Full proposal: 4 March 2025
Subsidy: (Loan) €450K
Scope: In the early stage project, it is about launching the start-up based on knowledge innovations from research institutions. An early phase project consists of the steps and activities to make the idea/concept commercially viable, to launch the process or service successfully on the market, to grow the company and that money will be earned. This happens by:
- Explain and execute an early phase plan in detail;
- Find contact with the stakeholders and future customers who enter the company enable independent growth and success;
- When applicable: by developing the concept, product or service so that at the end of the process of others – private or public investors – prepared must be the next stage to finance.
NWO: Open Science Infrastructure
Subsidy: €250K – 1,5M
Total budget available: €12,5M
Funding rate: At least 25%
Deadline:
Pre-proposal: 5 November 2024
Full proposal: 22 April 2025
Project duration: max 4 years
Consortium: Applicants (main and co-applicants) must have a permanent or temporary contract (that covers at least the project duration) at a research organization recognized by NWO.
Scope: The aim of this programme is to invest in the development and/or improvement of digital infrastructures that enable open science. The scope of the programme will cover the entire spectrum of open science and is intentionally broad to be inclusive of various digital infrastructure needs of the open science community. Applicants can focus on specific types of infrastructure (e.g. non-profit, community-led open access publication platforms/infrastructure), specific types of research outputs (e.g. research software, data, publications, hardware, creative outputs, replication studies, etc.) or specific open science practices (e.g. citizen science, societal engagement, reproducibility, preregistration, open peer review, etc.). Furthermore, applications can be generic (domain- and discipline-agnostic), as well as limited to specific domain(s) of research.
NWO Demonstrator
Subsidy: max. €160,000 for max. 18 months
Funding rate: 100%
Deadline: 18 March 2025
Consortium: Researchers working at a Dutch university, UMC, or other research organization recognized by NWO.
Scope: The Demonstrator program focuses on facilitating and encouraging the application of research results from Dutch universities, research institutions, or higher education institutions. The program aims to further develop knowledge to the level of a minimal functional prototype of a product (Minimal Viable Product). Using a demonstrator version, the application potential of the underlying demonstrator knowledge can be shown to a third party, indicating its readiness for transfer (“Show to Transfer”). The ultimate commercialization of the knowledge occurs through and by a third party.
NWO Perspective
Subsidy: €2M – 5M per project
Total budget: €26M
Funding rate: 60%, 10% in cash co-funding and 30% co-funding (in-cash or in-kind)
Deadline:
Letter of intent: 8 October 2024
Pre-Proposal: 19 November 2024
Full Proposal: 13 May 2025
Consortium: Scientists, companies and social organisations can apply a comprehensive research project concerning new technology through consortia. Such a project usually consists of four to eight work packages which approach the overarching theme from various research directions, with an explicit focus on application. At least three knowledge institutions and four users must be represented in the consortium. In addition to academic parties, TO2 institutes and universities of applied sciences can also apply for funding under certain conditions.
Scope: Innovation that has an economic and social impact often requires a large-scale approach. Developing new technology requires setting up new lines of research, transcending old networks and creating close collaboration between scientists and industry. The financing instrument Perspective focuses on stimulating this collaboration in order to solve innovation bottlenecks. Innovative knowledge takes shape in an application that contributes to technological innovation with potential economic and social impact for the Netherlands.
NWO Domain Science Open Competition
The NWO Domain Science (Exacte en Natuurwetenschappen, ENW) Open Competition (OC) has three instruments, the NWO OC ENW – XS, NWO OC ENW – M and NWO OC ENW – XL. All instruments in the OC ENW are designed to fuel fundamental research in the research fields of the NWO ENW, such as, earth sciences, life sciences, computer sciences and chemistry.
Open Competition, ENW – XS
Available budget: €4 million (for 2020-2021 round)
Maximum subsidy budget: €50,000
Deadlines: 4 deadlines per year: 5 March, 14 May, 28 August, 15 October in 2024
Consortium: Intended for single applicants
Scope: This funding instrument is open for research proposals with a question in or overlapping the fields of earth sciences, astronomy, chemistry, computer science, life sciences, physics and mathematics. Proposals can be monodisciplinary, multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary in nature. The NWO Domain Science has three different types of funding that you can submit proposals for in open competition.
Open Competition, ENW – M
Available budget: €40M
ENW-M-1 grant: €400K
ENW-M1X grant: €800K
ENW-M-1-WEAVE or ENW-M-1-LUX: €400K
ENW-M-2 grant: €800K
Deadlines: 31 July 2025
Consortium: Full, associate and assistant professors and other researchers with a comparable position may submit an application if they have a tenured position or track agreement at a research organization recognized by NWO.
Specific applicant rules per grant:
- ENW-M-1 grant and ENW-M-1X grant: single main applicant, no co-applicant
- ENW-M-1-WEAVE grant or ENW-M-1-LUX grant: single main Dutch applicant and one or more co-applicants from Germany, Flandres or Luxembourg
- ENW-M-2 grant: single main applicant and a single co-applicant
Scope: ENW-M grants are intended for curiosity-driven scientific research with impact. The ENW-M grants offer researchers the opportunity and freedom to start, and/or strengthen excellent, challenging and innovative lines of research, both mono disciplinary, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary.
Open Competition, ENW – XL
Available budget: €54 million 2024
Subsidy: ~€1-3 million
Deadlines: Pre-proposal 15 April 2021. Full proposal: 23 December 2021
Consortium:
A consortium of at least two researchers from different research institutes can apply if the researchers:
- are employed at a Dutch university or a research institute recognised by NWO; and
- have an appointment period for at least the duration of the application procedure and the entire duration of the research for which the grant is being applied for.
For tenure track appointments a letter that guarantees adequate supervision should be provided.
Scope: The Open Competition Domain Science-XL grants are aimed at curiosity-driven fundamental scientific research with impact, and the programme allows a choice for scientific impact, societal impact, or both. This funding instrument is open for proposals with a research question in or overlapping the fields of earth sciences, astronomy, chemistry, computer science, life sciences, physics and mathematics. Proposals can be monodisciplinary, multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary .
Open Technology Programme (OTP)
Subsidy: €950,000
Scope: NWO TTW aims to bring scientific research together with potential users, as to realize knowledge transfer. Criteria are excellent scientific quality and utilization and the call is characterized by an absence of disciplinary boundaries. To assure utilization, a user committee must be installed, consisting of at least four users, of which at least two companies.
Read more about this call or visit the NWO website
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