NWA Citizen Science 2026

NWA Citizen Science 2026 is sponsored by NWO (Dutch Research Agenda). This call strengthens collaboration between citizen collectives and researchers to jointly develop research within the 25 pathways of the Dutch National Research Agenda (NWA).

NWA Citizen Science 2026 | NWO Through this Call for Proposals, NWO aims to strengthen collaboration between citizens and researchers within the Routes of the Dutch Research Agenda.

Through this instrument, NWO aims to offer engaged and inquisitive citizens, brought together in a citizens’ collective, the opportunity to address a societal issue in collaboration with researchers and within the framework of the Dutch Science Agenda routes. By combining their experience and unique insight into the issue with the scientific insights of researchers, they can work together to develop potential solutions to the issue.

Applications must be submitted by a lead applicant on behalf of the consortium. Under this Call for Proposals, applications will only be considered if they are submitted via one of the 25 NWA routes. To this end, when submitting the application, the applicant must provide the ‘Confirmation of NWA Route Affiliation’ statement, in which the route’s management confirms that the application is being submitted on their behalf.

A template for the ‘Confirmation of Route Affiliation’ statement has been made available by NWO on the funding page of this Call for proposals. A maximum of two applications per NWA route may be considered. The selection of these applications is the responsibility of the routes.

Four categories of consortium participants are distinguished: collaboration partner(s); A consortium must consist of at least one lead applicant and one citizens’ collective. The conditions for each participant are explained in more detail in the following sections. To increase the likelihood of the research having an impact, collaboration between researchers and partners from civil society is required.

In the Call for Proposals, NWO supports the formation of a consortium by and with citizen collectives, in which the research question originates from these collectives. Work is carried out jointly on drafting the application and conducting the research via and within the 25 NWA routes. This methodology is explained in more detail in Appendix 7.

4. The maximum grant amount per project is €100,000. It is expected that up to 25 applications will be awarded in this round.

Under this Call for Proposals, applications are put forward via the 25 NWA routes, with the research questions being formulated by a citizens’ collective. In principle, one application will be awarded per NWA route (see Chapter 4). If one or more applications do not meet the set quality requirements, NWO may proceed to award a second application put forward by one of the other routes.

This decision will be made on the basis of the priorities established by the assessment committee. The deadline for submitting applications is 17 September 2026, by 14:00:00 CEST . The deadline for submitting a request for assessment of organisations based in the Netherlands (see section 3.

2) is 3 September 2026, by 14:00:00 CEST . The deadline for submitting a request for assessment of foreign organisations (see section 7. 1.

3) is 3 September 2026, before 14:00:00 CEST . The assessment is based on substantive evaluation criteria and begins once an application has been accepted for consideration.

Applications are assessed on their merits using the following evaluation criteria: Problem definition and analysis (30%) Expected impact and pathway to impact (20%) Quality of collaboration (30%) Quality of the research (20%) The application assessment procedure consists of the following steps (see the timeline in section 3.

1): preliminary assessment by the assessment committee; meeting of the assessment committee; For this round, an external, independent assessment committee will be appointed by the NWO Executive Board. Its members will be drawn from the scientific community and the entire knowledge chain, including societal stakeholders and representatives from the target group, with expertise in the relevant field.

The task of the assessment committee is to assess the submitted applications against the assessment criteria. Each application is assessed on its own merits. Applications are assessed by an assessment committee, without reference opinions.

Responsible research data management is an essential component of good research practice. Prepare a data management plan after the grant is awarded and before the project starts. Applications must be submitted through the Isaac application and reporting system.

If you do not have an Isaac account yet, then please create one at least one workday in advance. More information about writing a proposal and which forms you need to use can be found in Isaac. Please download and use the forms in Isaac.

Below you will find examples of the required forms. The Call for Proposals describes how the application process for the ‘NWA Citizen Science’ round is structured and consists of seven chapters. This Call for Proposals falls under the responsibility of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

The NWO Funding Scheme 2024 and the Agreement on the Funding of Scientific Research apply to all applications (above €50,000. 00). NWO processes personal data received in the context of this round in accordance with the NWO Privacy Statement.

Please include the following mandatory attachments with your application by uploading them to ISAAC: data security declaration (see section 4. 3. 5); declaration of appointment and project supervision (PDF); declaration of support from the collaboration partner (without co-funding) (PDF); confirmation of embedding in the NWA route (PDF); declaration of collaboration with the citizens’ collective; declaration of de minimis aid.

Download Call for proposals The Call for proposals is only available in Dutch. Please visit the Dutch part of the callpage . Online manual grant application system ISAAC ISAAC offers applicants for research funding the possibility to track their application in the assessment process.

The funding process explained NWO has a fixed procedure for handling all applications. Learn more about how the application procedure is set up – from the moment you apply until a decision is reached. Do you already have an account in Isaac?

Have you completed the application form? Has the statement been signed by the main applicant? Do the co-applicants have a statement of approval signed?

Have you uploaded the budget (Excel file) to ISAAC? Have you added the data security statement (see section 4. 3.

5)? Have you uploaded the appointment and project supervision statement (PDF)? Have you added the letter of support from the collaboration partner (without co-funding) (PDF)?

(if applicable) Have you uploaded the confirmation of embedding in the NWA route (PDF)? Have you added the declaration of collaboration with the citizen collective? Have you uploaded the de minimis aid declaration?

(if applicable) You can read all the details about the application for funding in the call for proposals. If you have any questions, please contact the contact person. Public administration & political science Computers and the humanities Life sciences and medicine Music, theatre, performing arts and media Religious studies and theology