Submitting a funding proposal and the registration process
 | Suppose you want to apply for a grant from NWO: What must you do, who decides if your proposal shall be awarded funding, when do you find out if you are one of the lucky ones and what can you do if you disagree with the decision? Each year, NWO receives about 4000 funding proposals of which about 20 to 25 percent are awarded. |
What can I apply for from NWO?
NWO has various types of grants, for example grants within NWO's thematic programmes directed at predetermined scientific research areas, person-specific grants and the open competition (where in both cases the researcher determines the subject), grants for developing international contacts or for exchange programmes, and grants for purchasing equipment or the use of large research facilities in the Netherlands or abroad. Within the various grant categories, several specific grant schemes have been developed. A scientist can submit proposals to more than one grant scheme. Sometimes it is even possible to submit several proposals within a single grant scheme.
Where can I find information?
Researchers who want to submit a funding proposal to NWO are usually scientists with an appointment at a Dutch research institute (this can differ per grant) who search for grants that are open for proposals. There are various ways of obtaining information about funding possibilities from NWO. For example, via the newsletter of an NWO division that lists currents calls for proposals, via a policy officer from the university or via NWO's website. Eventually everybody who wants to submit a proposal to NWO will end up visiting the Subsidy Guide on NWO's website.
NWO's grant guide: all paths lead to Rome
In the grant guide, a researcher can use various routes to look for grants that are open for applications: alphabetically, per scientific discipline or per grant category. The conditions a researcher must satisfy to be eligible for funding are clearly stated for each type of grant scheme. Each grant has a digital brochure that contains all of the information you need to know about submitting a proposal, the procedure, the do’s and don’ts and the deadlines.
What should I do next if I have found a grant?
If you believe that you are eligible for a grant then you can submit an electronic application via Iris, NWO's electronic application system. To do this you first of all need to obtain an access code and you can also request this electronically. Within one hour a password shall be sent to your e-mail address and you can use this password to log into Iris.
Researchers may also request such an access code even if they do not need to submit a proposal straightaway. This remains valid.
How do I send a proposal to NWO?
An application form is usually available via Iris. You can download the digital application form and complete this offline in a word-processing program such as Word. As NWO often uses foreign referees, the proposal must be written in English.
Once the application has been completed it must be converted into a PDF file before it is sent. Doing this ensures that NWO receives the application in the same layout as the researcher chose. Instructions for this are given in Iris. NWO also requests some more general information which can be completed on a separate web form. These data are saved and stored in the project administration system. Once you have sent the proposal you shall receive a confirmation of receipt by e-mail.
If a lot of proposals are expected then NWO makes use of the preproposal system. This is to prevent researchers spending a lot of time writing a full proposal when the chance of funding being awarded is very small. In such cases the researcher first of all completes a concise application and then NWO will advise whether or not this should be elaborated upon. Subsequently a limited number of researchers submit this complete and more detailed proposal.
Administrative processing
After the proposal has been received, NWO shall include it in its project administration system.
Admissibility test
This the first step in the consideration of an application. Policy officers from NWO use the admissibility test to broadly assess whether the application satisfies the relevant criteria as stated in the grant brochure. Researchers usually hear within two weeks whether or not their application is admissible.
NWO adheres strictly to this deadline. Yet in the case of a technical defect or a clear misunderstanding it may be possible to modify the information within a period of about two days in consultation with NWO.
For a number of grants you can use your login code for Iris to follow the status of your proposal: has this already been processed, when will it be assessed and when can the decision about the proposal be expected?
If the proposal has passed the admissibility test then it is evaluated and prioritised on the basis of it content: Is your research proposal good enough?
