NWA Do-ReACT: Further Development and Regulatory Acceptance of Chemical Test Models

NWA Do-ReACT: Further Development and Regulatory Acceptance of Chemical Test Models is sponsored by Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO). This call aims to contribute to the validation of methods that do not involve animals for the safety assessment of chemical substances.

The ultimate goal is to bring these methods as close as possible to regulatory acceptance, bridging the gap between research and implementation.

Do-ReACT: Further Development and Regulatory Acceptance of Chemical Test Models | NWO Further development and validation of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) is required to bridge the gap between the research phase and the implementation of safety assessments for chemical substances. Before they can be used as standard methods for safety testing and in a regulatory context, NAMs must be validated.

The aim of the “NWA Do-ReACT” Call for Proposals is to contribute to the validation of existing non-animal testing methods that focus on determining the hazards and/or risks of exposure to chemical substances for humans, animals, and the environment. This will promote acceptance of these methods and the results obtained from them.

The ultimate goal is to bring these NAMs as close as possible to achieving international regulatory acceptance. This Call for Proposals also explicitly aims to gain insights into the validation process. Proposals are to be submitted by the main applicant on behalf of the consortium.

The main applicant has participated in both collaborative workshops. There are four categories of participants within a consortium: A consortium should consist of at least a main applicant, a co-applicant and cooperation partner. More information about the four categories of participants as well as specific requirements regarding who can apply, can be found in paragraph 3.

1 of the Call for proposals. This Call for Proposals supports the formation of consortia through a series of two collaborative workshops. The two consecutive workshops form a single session, focusing on the exchange of ideas, exploring collaboration in consortia with other participants, and making the first agreements for jointly elaborating the application.

Following the workshops, the formed consortia will further develop the applications. Participation in both workshops is mandatory for lead applicants. Only consortia focused on the further development and validation of existing methods for the safety assessment of chemical substances can apply for funding within this Call for Proposals.

These methods have been developed previously in research projects, which have already provided insight into their feasibility and potential impact. The Call for Proposals is aimed at funding a single project. A maximum grant of € 3,440,000 can be requested for the project.

Various different methods can be further developed in the project. In this way, the project can be a learning community where knowledge is developed from different cases and where overarching research focused on generic insights and recommendations is also possible.

This Call for Proposals consists of two phases: Registration for and participation in the collaborative workshops (mandatory for main applicants); On 14 January and 4 February 2026, ZonMw will organise collaborative workshops with the aim of bringing together interested parties (researchers and public and/or private social parties) around a specific theme, combining research ideas (joining forces) and forming broad innovative consortia.

The deadline to register for the collaborative workshops is 7 January 2026. The deadline for submitting applications is Tuesday 12 May 2026 , before 14:00:00 CEST.

The applications submitted within this Call for Proposals will be assessed based on the following criteria: Problem definition and analysis (20%), Expected impact and route to impact (20%), Quality of the consortium (30%), Quality of the research (30%), Each assessment criterion consists of several sub-criteria, which can be found in the call for proposals, section 4. 3.

The application procedure consists of the following steps: registering for the collaborative workshops; participating in both collaborative workshops (mandatory for the main applicant or a deputy (see section 3. 3.

1)); submission of the proposal; admissibility of the proposal; pre advice assessment committee; if neccessary: interview selection; assessment committee meeting; This Call for proposals has two phases: Registering for and participating in the collaborative workshops (mandatory for main applicants); For a complete overview of all submission requirements, see section 3. 4. 1.

of the Call for proposals. A proposal can only be submitted via the online application system MijnZonMw. Applications that are not submitted via MijnZonMw will not be taken into consideration.

As the main applicant, you are required to submit an application via your own personal My ZonMw account. The proposal must be submitted by a knowledge chain-wide and interdisciplinary consortium (see section 3. 1 of the Call for proposals).

The consortium may consist of experts from humanities and social sciences as well as exact sciences, experts in Dutch and/or European legislation, civil society organisations and experts from the industry. This Call for proposals is open only to consortia that focus on the further development and optimisation of existing methods.

These are methods developed by previous research projects that accumulated knowledge about their feasibility and potential impact. Proposals need not focus exclusively on individual animal-free methods. Combinations of various animal-free methods (test batteries) are also covered by the objective of this Call for proposals.

Mandatory consortium-building activities Please read the Call for proposals before submitting a proposal. Proposals must be submitted through MijnZonMw. The deadline is 12 May 2026 (14:00:00 CEST).

Downloads for your application Do-ReACT: Further Development and Regulatory Acceptance of Chemical Test Models | call for proposals 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. Register for the collaborative workshops Life sciences and medicine