Overview of NWO funding instruments for young researchers
As a researcher at an NWO Institute, you can apply for one of the many funding instruments from the financer of research in the Netherlands: the Dutch Research Council (NWO). NWO focuses on boosting innovative research and facilitating career progression at research institutes. Inside NWO-I briefly explains the funding possibilities for PhDs and recent PhD graduates at its institutes.
Rubicon
Did you gain your PhD less than a year ago? Or are you still busy doing your PhD research but has your supervisor already approved your thesis? Then you can submit a proposal for a Rubicon grant. This funding gives you the opportunity to do research at a foreign institute for a minimum of 12 months, and a maximum of 24 months. With a Rubicon, NWO remunerates salary costs, travel costs and, to a limited extent, research costs. Rubicon has three funding rounds per year. You need to choose which domain you will submit your proposal to for the Rubicon Call for proposals. You can choose from:
- Science (ENW).
- Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH).
- Applied and Engineering Sciences (AES).
- Health Research and Medical Sciences (ZonMw).
The NWO Talent programme with the Veni grant
With the annual Veni grant, NWO aims to fund innovative scientific research and give young, talented researchers the opportunity to develop themselves into independent researchers. Only researchers with exceptional academic qualities are eligible for the Veni grant. A Veni grant has a maximum size of 320,000 euros. Are you a researcher who holds a PhD with or without a tenured employment contract, from the Netherlands or abroad, and do you possess the specified qualities? It is possible to submit a proposal if you obtained your PhD within three years before the reference date of the funding round, or if you gained your PhD between 1 January and 1 September of the reference year. Every year, your pre-proposal needs to be submitted to NWO before September, and the closing date for the full proposal is 31 January of the following year.
Scientific Meetings and Consultations (WBO)
As a PhD or postdoc, you can submit a proposal for financial support for a scientific meeting or consultation. One condition is that on the date of the meeting or consultation, you are employed at a research institution (see this list for all conditions). The WBO is open for proposals with a research question within or that overlaps with the earth sciences, astronomy, chemistry, computer sciences, life sciences, physics and mathematics.
The funding is only meant to have a facilitating function. NWO contributes to the costs of the organisation, such as hiring a meeting place, accommodation costs of participants and guest speakers, and childcare at the location of the meeting.
A maximum of 15,000 euros is available for a scientific meeting. The maximum remuneration per participant is 60 euros, and the organisation of the scientific meeting itself contributes at least 25 euros per participant. For a scientific consultation, a maximum of 2400 euros is available. The maximum remuneration per participant is 60 euros. Proposals can be submitted on a continuous basis. NWO awards funding to about one hundred proposals per year. Please visit the NWO website for more information.
Would you like to know more about the NWO funding instruments?On the NWO website, you can find a detailed overview of all funding instruments: all Calls for proposals, the call planning, the available funding, the conditions and how to apply for funding. |
Newsletter Inside NWO-I, December 2023
You can find the archive of the newsletter Inside NWO-I on the NWO-I website.