Why research?

NWO funds and initiates top-quality fundamental scientific research. Only the very best applications for subsidy are awarded—often to the disappointment of those who are rejected. Only the best is good enough, and there is not enough money to support everyone. This work being done by excellent researchers is vital. Dutch universities and institutes are achieving amazing research results that benefit all—humankind in the broadest sense. We are becoming more knowledgeable, gain a better grasp of various processes and developments, and scientists thereby foster progress in general.

Industry

Closer to earth: the industrial sector, which invests heavily in research that is often application-oriented, benefits from new findings generated by independent, non-commercial research. As a result our knowledge economy prospers and we manage to maintain our association with the world’s richest industrial nations. It is absolutely vital to maintain the excellency of our academic population: they are the reservoir from which curious researchers, clever professors, and—when fortune smiles on us—Nobel prize winners must emerge. To achieve this it is necessary to have a fine system of primary and secondary education, which is only possible in a modern, well-equipped country. And thus the snake bites its own tail.

Promise

The EU member states agreed in Barcelona (2000) to spend 3 per cent of their GNP on scientific research. The Netherlands was one of them. Yet up till now its research budget has not exceeded 2 per cent.