NWA-ORC 2025

- Generation of interdisciplinary, demand-driven research that yields scientific breakthroughs and/or societal breakthroughs (“wicked problems”).
• Development of clear routes to impact, with stakeholder engagement and knowledge utilisation strategies.
• Strengthened collaboration across the knowledge chain and between academia and societal partners.
• Production of actionable insights, policy recommendations or innovations addressing cluster questions defined by NWA-route networks.
• Establishment of sustainable networks and partnerships that endure beyond the project lifetime.
• Comprehensive data management fostering transparency, reproducibility and open science.

- Consortia must include four participant categories: Main applicant, Co-applicant(s), Cooperating partner(s), optional Co-funder(s).
• Representation of the full knowledge chain: fundamental, applied and practice-oriented research.
• Inclusion of relevant societal stakeholders (public or private) and, where appropriate, citizens.
• Research themes must originate from NWA-route networks and be based on one or more of the 140 cluster questions (Annex 7.4).
• Project duration: 4–8 years.
• Maximum funding per project: €6,750,000.
• Budget specified via NWO modules (see §3.2 and Annex 7.1): Personnel; Material; Investments; Knowledge utilisation; Project management.
• Main applicant (or named deputy) must have participated in both collaborative workshops on the chosen theme.
• Submission deadline: 3 February 2026, 14:00 CET via ISAAC.