AiNed Programme

AiNed Programme is sponsored by NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) through the National Growth Fund. The AiNed programme, supported by the National Growth Fund, promotes the development and application of AI in Dutch businesses and governments.

National Growth Fund | NWO Through the National Growth Fund, the government invests in three areas: Research, development and innovation; Ministries submit investment proposals in these areas, in cooperation with (SME) companies, knowledge institutions and other public and private parties. This is done through the so-called departmental route of the National Growth Fund.

An independent committee evaluates the proposals and advises the cabinet on the investments. *In the coalition agreement 2021, Infrastructure has been transferred to the Mobility Fund NWO is involved in the implementation of several Growth Fund projects awarded through the departmental route.

In the field of research, development and innovation, these include: Developing and applying artificial intelligence (AI) in Dutch industry and governments (via AiNed); Accelerating and realising the green hydrogen economy in the Netherlands (via GroenvermogenNL). See the menu at the top right of this page for the total overview of the Growth Fund projects NWO supports in their implementation.

View the granted projects of the National Growth Fund round 1 The National Growth Fund projects include a wide range of investments and activities, some of which are deployed through NWO. NWO, together with the ministries involved and the awarded projects, develops and implements appropriate grant instruments for this purpose. In doing so, it is possible to fund companies and civil society organisations through NWO.

TO2 institutions and universities of applied sciences (UAS) can also receive funding. The budgets per Growth Fund project and activity supported by NWO range from several to tens of millions of euros. This funding becomes available scattered, over a period of several years.

In the Growth Fund, NWO applies different rates for funding research organisations. A 50% surcharge is applied to the UNL, UMCNL (formerly: NFU) and HOT rates. It is also possible to be reimbursed for integral costs.

In NWO National Growth Fund (NGF) calls, one or more of the following five tariff systems can be offered to boost the costs of staff deployment: UNL salary tables plus 50% mark-up UMCNL salary tables plus 50% mark-up Integral costing system (IKS) The applicant should always consult the specific Call for proposals for information on the tariff systems applicable to the intended application.

Each (co-)applicant chooses himself/herself from the tariff systems applicable to the intended application and which is appropriate for the organisation concerned, resulting in applications and projects in which the various tariff variants may co-exist.

Projects for this programme ‘This allows me to be part of brand-new initiatives in the industry’ Vocational, higher professional and university education: the whole chain is needed to make an impact with drone research AI enables communication for people who cannot speak New programme for attracting AI talent: AiNed Fellowship Grants Sixteen awards in NGF Quantum Technology programme Pre-announcement: QDNL and NWO launch second call for scientific quantum research Holomicrobiome 2026 - Towards novel microbiome applications for the environment, food and health NGF CIIIC Learning Communities for IX-talent and skills NGF: Direct Use of Hydrogen, GroenvermogenNL – Work Package 3, fase 2 GroenvermogenNL: Hydrogen & Hydrogen Carriers: Import, Conversion, Transport & Storage NGF-CIIIC Kern: Demand-Driven Applied Research on Immersive Experiences (IX) Quantum Delta NL Quantum Technology 2025 What happens after NWO has awarded your research proposal?

We will take you through the various steps of the project phases: from the start of the project, through its duration and completion.