NWO Open Competition grants

The Open Competition AES consists of two programmes. 

Open Mind is a grant for technology ideas that can be used to solve major societal issues. In this grant, you can try out-of-the-box research ideas and work on them for a year. The application is open once a year, and you must also record a movie with the application. The maximum amount you can ask for your idea is 50.000 euros.  

Open Technology Program (OTP) is open to innovative research in the technical domain with a clear focus on the application of the results in the industry. It is a collaborative proposal, containing a group of researchers with a minimal 2, up to 4 (ideally) non-academic partners who are the next users of your technology. Applications can be submitted throughout the year.

The size of the application is a maximum €950,000 where above 700,000 euro co-funding by users is mandatory. It amounts to 25% of the sum in excess of 700,000 euro. The maximum amount may change annually. Please consult the NWO OTP website. 

The Science Domain (or Exact and Natural Sciences) has a Open Competition with several options to fund one or more scientific positions, investments, and collaborations with other scientists.

• ENW XS: This grant is open to all university employees across the line: from postdoctoral researchers to professors. It has several application rounds per year. It is meant for encouraging curiosity and new ideas in research as part of promising, high-risk projects. The maximum you can ask for is 50.000 euros. 
• ENW M: These grants are intended for realising curiosity-driven, fundamental research of high quality or scientific urgency. Researchers have the possibility to elaborate on creative and risky ideas and to realize scientific innovations that can form the basis for the research themes of the future. The M grants have a continuous application procedure. You can submit for a single scientific PhD/post-doc position in M-1 or in collaboration a M-2 proposal for two positions. Next to this, there is a M-invest to invest in infrastructure. 
• ENW WEAVE: These grants are part of the ENW M, researchers from the Netherlands can be involved in a bilateral research proposal that is submitted to DFG or FWO. Together with partners from Germany or Flanders they can submit a WEAVE proposal. 
• ENW XL: This grant gives researchers the opportunity and freedom to strengthen or expand excellent, challenging and innovative lines of research, as a part of a consortium for curiosity-driven, fundamental research. It is only open every two years. The total amount you can request is 3 million with a minimum of 1 million. 

This ZonMw Open Competition is a curiosity-driven research programme that gives you the possibility to renew your research line, start new collaborations and perform innovative, groundbreaking science in the health domain. It has two main grants types: 

Off-road grants are targeted at young (bio)medical and/or health researchers developing an innovative idea into a proof-of-concept. Applications have a high-risk profile and do not fall within established lines of research. 

Open competition grants are there for team-science, where innovative collaboration is a key criterion in the application. The main applicant should be past Vici-age to be able to submit. The process involves a pre-proposal and a full proposal phase.

These curiosity-driven open competition grants are for scientists with a research question rooted primarily in the social sciences and/or humanities. The scheme has three different types of grants.

XS: small grants for candidates who received their Ph.D. 5 to 10 years ago. There are three submission rounds each year. The maximum budget per application is 50,000 euros.

M for those receiving their Ph.D. at least 10 years ago. The maximum budget is 400,000 euros.

L: for those who received their Ph.D. at least 15 years ago. The maximum budget is 800,000 euros. 

The M and L grant are open alternately. If you submitted in M the previous year, you cannot submit in L the subsequent year.