The selection committee issues its advice

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 does a selection committee do?

The committee's task is to assess the submitted proposals against preformulated criteria. The proposal that best satisfies these criteria is awarded first place, et cetera. The selection committee advises the relevant NWO board about which proposals should be funded. NWO has deliberately separated the evaluation and decision-taking procedures so as to make the procedure as transparent and objective as possible. A general description of how the committee works has been provided here, but the approach adopted by the committee can vary per grant.

How is the committee selected?

Whereas the referees are usually specialists the committee members are usually generalists. After all they must assess a wide range of proposals from a frequently broader perspective. Sometimes a grant covers all scientific disciplines and sometimes it is strongly defined.
The committee members are drawn from institutes, universities and private companies in both the Netherlands and further afield. They are often experienced researchers and/or people who are experienced in evaluating research. The NWO office puts forward suggestions for candidates. The committee is formally appointed by a competent administrative body. During the selection of the committee members a certain representation across disciplines and institutes is aimed for. The male to female ratio is also taken into account as equally the balance between older and younger committee members. Selection committees frequently contain non-Dutch members. The number of committee members depends on the size and nature of the grant scheme concerned.

What criteria must the members satisfy?

Committee members may not in anyway be involved with a proposal or the applicant or have any other interests that could give the impression of a conflict of interest. They should subscribe to NWO's Code of Conduct on Conflict of Interests (see www.nwo.nl/gedragscode). For each proposal, each committee member must indicate whether there is a conflict of interest and if so, what this is. Measures can be taken accordance with the guidelines in the code of conduct. In certain cases the committee member concerned may be replaced.

The committee chair leads the discussions and safeguards the procedures. Consequently he/she is subject to additional criteria regarding experience and expertise.

How does the committee work?

The committee's activities are confidential. Information may not be divulged to anybody outside of the committee before, during or after the tasks have been carried out. All committee members will be sent the following written information in advance: the brochure text with the evaluation criteria, the text of the proposal, the comments from the referees and the rebuttal. They also receive a job description and methodology. Where necessary, the committee members shall collect additional information, for example by means of a literature search. The members are requested to prepare thoroughly in advance so that the meeting(s) can proceed as effectively as possible. This preparation can vary and depends upon the grant concerned. Some of the committee members (pre-advisors) can be asked to take a specific look at a number of the proposals. They will send their opinion about these proposals to the secretary in advance of the meeting. Equally, all of the committee members may be asked to rank the proposals in advance of the meeting. The chair and the secretary – a member of staff from NWO who also has the task of supporting the committee and safeguarding the procedures – prepare the meeting. During the meeting all applications are discussed and the arguments for and against are exchanged. The chair and secretary are responsible for ensuring that the evaluation takes place in accordance with the applicable procedure and criteria. The chair can also enquire in the meantime what each individual committee member thinks about the proposals. Finally the committee formulates its conclusions.

Is the committee also called upon at other times?

Yes, it can be. If the number of proposals exceeds the number of grants available by more than a factor of four then the selection committee can make a preselection before the referees start their work. This is because NWO does not want to unnecessarily burden referees with a large number of proposals. In the case of a preselection, extra care is taken in putting together the committee as far higher demands will be made upon its members.

Can the committee obtain information by other means?

Yes, for a number of grant schemes including the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme and Investment Subsidy NWO Large, additional information is obtained. For example, the applicant can be invited for an interview (Innovational Research Incentives Scheme) and the selection committee can make a site visit (NWO Large) to gain a better impression of the qualities of the applicant(s), the proposed research or the requested investment. If this approach is taken then during its first meeting, the committee selects the applicants who shall be invited for an interview or to whom a site visit shall be made. Based on this information a funding recommendation is formulated in a subsequent meeting.

How is the recommendation compiled and what is it used for?

Based on the committee's deliberations the secretary issues a draft recommendation that is checked by the chair. This is submitted to the other committee members for approval. The recommendation contains the prioritised proposals and a list stating which proposals are put forward for funding and which not. Each proposal is discussed with arguments. The written recommendation with reasons is sent to the administrative body that takes a decision about the funding allocations.