Funding available for Large Public-Private Consortia Focused on Societal Challenges (Netherlands)

The programme offers applicants considerable scope to shape the content of their proposals and to coordinate their research questions with their partners.

Purpose

• The aim of this programme is to stimulate demand-driven public-private partnerships that contribute to impact for the economy, people and the planet. The focus is on the societal challenges described in the mission-driven innovation policy of the Dutch government.
• This funding scheme focuses on the consortium’s knowledge and/or development question. There are no discipline-related frameworks or predetermined themes:
  • the research need only align with one or more KIAs. This gives consortia the freedom to design interdisciplinary research that addresses their own specific challenges.

Funding Information

• The total grant ceiling for this Call for proposals is €14,000,000. Applicants may request a minimum of €1,400,000 and a maximum of €7,000,000 in NWO funding per proposal. NWO funding may cover up to 70% of the total project budget; the remaining 30% must be provided through mandatory co-funding.
• Funded projects may have a maximum duration of six years.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications must be submitted by a consortium comprising:
  • A main applicant: a researcher employed on a permanent contract or tenure track at one of the following organisations: Dutch universities, university medical centres, KNAW or NWO institutes, the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI), the Max Planck Institute in Nijmegen, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, ARCNL, or the Princess Máxima Center. Professors of universities of applied sciences (lectoren) may also act as main applicants;
  • Co-applicant(s): researchers at the above-mentioned institutions or at other research organisations (such as foundations or associations) that meet NWO’s eligibility criteria;
  • Co-funding partners and collaboration partners: contribute financially or in kind and/or play a substantive role in the project, but do not apply for NWO funding themselves.

Assessment Criteria

• Applications will be assessed based on the following criteria:
  • Problem definition and analysis (25%)
  • Expected impact and pathway to impact (25%)
  • Quality of the consortium (30%)
  • Quality of the research (20%)

Application Process

• The application procedure consists of the following steps:
  • Assessment of KIA suitability and pre-proposal
    • The process begins with a mandatory pre-proposal, which is assessed for its alignment with one or more of the Knowledge and Innovation Agendas (KIAs). If the proposal is initially deemed not to align, applicants will have the opportunity to respond to the KIA reviewer feedback (rebuttal). Only preproposals considered suitable will be invited to submit a full proposal.
  • Assessment of the full proposal
    • Following a positive outcome at the pre-proposal stage, applicants may submit a full proposal. These will be reviewed by external referees. Applicants will again have the opportunity to respond to the referee reports (rebuttal). Based on the full proposal, the referee feedback and the rebuttal, the assessment committee will draft a pre-advice.
  • Interview and final assessment
    • Consortia will be invited to an interview with the assessment committee. During the interview, the committee can ask further questions, including new questions not raised by referees. The consortium will have the opportunity to respond and discuss these during the interview. The committee will then form an integrated assessment and make a funding recommendation to the NWO Executive Board, which makes the final decision on the grant allocation.

For more information, visit NWO.