An overview of NWO's activities in 2008
NWO's primary task is to promote the quality and innovation of scientific research. In addition, NWO also stimulates knowledge transfer and knowledge utilisation.
Background
In 2008, NWO continued to implement its strategy for 2007-2010 (Science Valued!). There are three lines of action:
- Opportunities for researchers: aims at preserving and increasing talent and promoting excellent, groundbreaking research;
- Consolidating strengths: aims for a concentrated deployment of people and resources;
- Science for society: aims to create a better fit between social requirements and groundbreaking research.
Developments
In 2008, NWO specifically focused on intensive cooperation with its partners in science and society at both a national and international level.
NWO:
- frequently consulted and cooperated with all 13 Dutch universities, VSNU (the Association of Universities in the Netherlands), KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), and government departments
- has signed the national valorisation agenda together with 14 other organisations in order to promote knowledge utilisation
- has strengthened and deepened the cooperation with SenterNovem on the basis of complementarity
- has cooperated in an international context in networks with partner organisations and government ministries from various European countries
- cooperated with KNAW in five partner organisations in China and in a jointly funded research programme
Using the extra resources made available by the Minister for Education, Culture and Science, NWO undertook the following actions for the revamped design of the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme in 2009:
- Veni, Vidi and Vici payments have been increased
- more opportunities have been created for interdisciplinary research and comparisons of quality between scientific disciplines
- a bonus criterion has been developed for research proposals in which strong plans for knowledge utilisation have been included
Results
In 2008, the following results related to the lines of action were achieved.
Line of action 1 – Opportunities for researchers
(a total of 2943 applications, of which 783 were funded: 196 million euro)
¶ NWO deployed the following personal grants:
- NWO Spinoza Prize (www.nwo.nl/spinoza) recognition for international top researchers (4 prizes, approx. 6 million euro)
- Innovational Research Incentives Scheme (www.nwo.nl/vi) promotion for researchers in different (Veni, Vidi, Vici) career phases (1117 applications, 229 funded)
- Rubicon (www.nwo.nl/rubicon) foreign experience for young researchers (321 applications, 89 funded)
- Toptalent (www.nwo.nl/toptalent) free choice of PhD research subject for talented graduates (129 applications, 48 funded)
- Simon Stevin Meester (www.stw.nl/programmas) recognition for a top researcher in applied research (1 prize, 0.5 million euro)
- Simon Stevin Gezel (www.stw.nl/programmas) a talented PhD student with an eye for utilisation (1 prize, 5000 euro)
- Simon Stevin Leerling (www.stw.nl/programmas) recognition of a PhD student for presenting research results (1 prize, 750 euro)
- Aspasia (www.nwo.nl/aspasia) female Vidi or Vici becomes a senior lecturer or professor (14 promotions)
- Mosaic (www.nwo.nl/mozaiek) retain talented graduating or recently graduated students from ethnic minorities in research (41 applications, 24 funded)
- Meervoud (www.nwo.nl/meervoud) female researchers from the Earth and Life Sciences (ALW) and Physical Sciences (EW) become a university lecturer (5 promotions)
- Athena (www.nwo.nl/athena) female Veni in the Chemical Sciences (CW) becomes a university lecturer (1 prize, 0.1 million euro)
¶ Intended for the best scientific project proposals, in which no thematic conditions are being applied. Research proposals concerning innovative, risky fundamental research with a research question of high-quality and of scientific or applied urgency (1056 applications, 277 funded).
NWO contributes to the costs of equipment via these programmes:
- Investment Subsidy NWO Large, equipment with a purchase price of more than 0.9 million euro (16 applications, 9 funded)
- Investment Subsidy NWO Medium, equipment with the purchase price of between 0.11 and 0.9 million euro (95 applications, 26 funded)
Line of Action 2 – Consolidating strengths
(a total of 476 applications, of which 307 funded: 211 million euro)
¶ In 2008, the NWO institutes were each active in various partnerships in their own area and focused on the development and realisation of many large-scale projects.
¶ The installation of the Huygens supercomputer at SARA in Amsterdam has been completed.
In the five current projects from the so-called ‘BIG round’ further progress has been made in realising the facilities and the use of these for scientific research.
¶ The committee National Roadmap Large-Scale Research Facilities has assessed and prioritised 56 short proposals submitted by Dutch knowledge institutes and 13 proposals have been included in the National Roadmap.
¶ The funding of the research facility DUBBLE has been safeguarded for several years with Flemish and Dutch funding.
In 2008, NWO also worked with various national and international partners.
NWO:
- supported 23 of the 33 current EUROCORES
- was a co-financier of 42 of the 69 current Research Networking projects
- participated in two Article 169 instruments (EDCTP, AAL)
- participated in 23 of the approximately 80 ERA-NETS
- participated in one European Technology Platform: Sustainable Chemistry
- pursued partnerships with the United States, Russia, Asia and developing countries
¶ VU University Amsterdam, Delft University of Technology, SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research and FOM Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen have been awarded centres of excellence by the Russia programme. All four have received €500,000 to carry out research in partnership with Russian research groups for a period of 5 years.
¶ Current thematic programmes in 2008, started in the strategy period 2002-2005 (www.nwo.nl/themaontwikkeling): in total 84 current programmes spread over 9 themes, 67.047 million euro (In 2008: 179 applications, 58 funded).
Line of Action 3 – Science for society
(a total of 503 applications, of which 223 funded: 52 million euro)
¶ socially-inspired programmes
- via 13 new cross-disciplinary themes (in 2008: 32 current programmes, 328 applications, 149 funded)
- via Smart Mix, 6 research programmes approved in 2008 were started
- via the Casimir programme, possibilities for a follow-up programme that encourages public-private mobility are being investigated
- Valorisation Grants support university researchers in the process of commercialising knowledge from research (34 applications in phase 1 of which 20 funded, 35 applications in phase 2 of which 13 funded)
¶ taskforces
- ACTS (sustainable chemistry, www.nwo.nl/acts), 5 current public-private partnership programmes, approx. 12 million euro
- ICTRegie (strengthening ICT knowledge infrastructure, www.ictregie.nl/), 8 ICT innovation platforms have been officially recognised, approx. 6 million euro
- NGI (genomics, www.genomics.nl/), approx. 27 million euro
¶ knowledge transfer and communication
- via press releases and research results translated for a wide public (research reports) In 2008: approx. 220
- for the third time, a collection of selected research results was published in the popular book Experiment NL – Wetenschap in Nederland [Experiment NL - Science in the Netherlands]
- via a range of other channels through which the researchers could come into contact with the press, knowledge users and the wider public
