NEDERLANDSE ORGANISATIE VOOR WETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK

Their core work

NWO is the Dutch Research Council — the Netherlands' primary national funding agency for scientific research. In H2020, NWO's role is overwhelmingly as a co-funder through ERA-NET Cofund mechanisms (34 of 47 projects), meaning it pools national research budgets with other European funding agencies to launch joint transnational research calls. NWO also coordinates Joint Programming Initiatives in areas like urban futures, humanities, and sustainability transformations. It does not perform research itself but shapes research agendas, manages competitive grant processes, and bridges Dutch science with European research priorities.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2014–2017), NWO focused on energy technologies, smart grids, open access infrastructure, and launching broad ERA-NET partnerships across diverse domains. From 2018 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward environmental policy — biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, resource efficiency, and e-infrastructure governance (European Open Science Cloud). The humanities and social sciences strand (HERA programmes, DIAL) remained a consistent thread throughout, distinguishing NWO from purely STEM-oriented funding agencies.

NWO is concentrating its European co-funding activity around environmental sustainability, climate adaptation, and digital research infrastructure — a clear alignment with the EU Green Deal and EOSC agendas.

How they like to work

NWO operates primarily as a consortium partner (37 of 47 projects) in large ERA-NET networks, but takes the lead on initiatives close to Dutch strategic interests — humanities (HERA), urban futures (ENSUF, EXPAND), and sustainability transformations (T2S). With 360 unique partners across 63 countries, NWO is a network hub connecting dozens of national funding agencies across Europe and beyond. Working with NWO means accessing their convening power: they bring co-funding and can mobilize Dutch research communities for transnational calls.

NWO has collaborated with 360 unique partners across 63 countries, making it one of the most broadly connected funding agencies in H2020. Its network is pan-European by design (ERA-NETs require multi-country participation) with extensions into Africa (LEAP-AGRI) and Latin America (EULAC Focus).

What sets them apart

NWO is not a research performer — it is a national funding council that uses H2020 ERA-NET mechanisms to align Dutch research investment with European priorities. This makes NWO uniquely valuable for consortium builders who need co-funding commitments from the Netherlands or want to tap into Dutch research talent through coordinated calls. Its rare strength in humanities and social sciences programming (HERA, DIAL) sets it apart from most funding agencies that focus exclusively on STEM domains.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ENSCC
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 1.13M) — ERA-NET on Smart Cities and Communities integrating energy, mobility, and urban governance.
• T2S
  NWO-coordinated programme on Transformations to Sustainability, directly addressing Sustainable Development Goals through interdisciplinary research.
• HERA-JRP-PS
  NWO-coordinated humanities programme on Public Spaces — unusual in H2020's predominantly technical landscape, with EUR 450K coordination budget.