NWA Municipal Policy for Biodiversity Restoration

NWA Municipal Policy for Biodiversity Restoration is sponsored by Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). This NWO funding round supports interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research focused on biodiversity restoration within municipal environments. While primarily a Dutch grant, it relates to broader environmental and scientific research interests.

NWA Municipal policy for biodiversity restoration | NWO 03-02-2026: ISAAC outage resolved. The technical malfunction of the grant application system ISAAC has been resolved. As it was not possible to submit on time on 3 February 2026, the submission deadline for this call has been moved to Thursday 5 February 2026, 2pm (CET).

For proposals that are already submitted, it is not possible to withdraw and resubmit them. Biodiversity loss is an immense challenge for both science and society. Therefore, it is of great importance that biodiversity is not only taken into account, but also prioritised in policy and decision-making at national, provincial and municipal levels where necessary.

The Call focuses on the development of knowledge that supports transformative change aimed at biodiversity restoration and conservation. Pre-proposals and proposals are to be submitted by the main applicant on behalf of the consortium. 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.

The conditions for each type of participant are explained in more detail in the Call for Proposals Research on complex and challenging issues requires collaboration between research disciplines, between practice-oriented and fundamental research, and with businesses and social organisations. That collaboration takes place in consortia. NWO encourages and supports the formation of consortia through meetings and workshops.

In this Call for Proposals, consortium formation is encouraged through the use of matchmaking for pre-proposals and synergy workshops for a proposal. More information can be found in the Call for Proposals. Per project, a grant amount of at most € 3,820,000 can be applied for.

The maximum duration of the proposed project is 5 years. The applicant and co-applicants can include costs for personnel, equipment, investments and knowledge utilisation. Within this Call three pre-proposals will be selected.

In the pre-proposal, applicants propose living labs. The selected applicants together submit one full proposal, which consists of an overarching research project and three living labs. In total, a budget of € 3,820,000 is available.

The deadline for submitting pre-proposals is Tuesday 3 February 2026, before 14:00:00 CET. The deadline for submitting applications is Tuesday 2 March 2027, by 14:00:00 CET. The deadline for submitting a request for review of (foreign) organisations is 20 January 2026, by 14:00:00 CET for pre-proposals, and for applications 16 February 2027 by 14:00:00 CET.

Phase 1 – pre-proposals: 1) Problem definition and analysis (40%) 2. Envisaged impact and route to impact (40%) 3) Quality of the consortium (20%) Phase 2 – proposals: 1) Problem definition and analysis (20%) 2.

Envisaged impact and route to impact (20%) 3) Quality of the consortium (30%) 4) Quality of the research (30%) Matchmaking meeting 6 November 2025 Matchmaking meeting Request assessment of (foreign) organisation(s) 20 January 2026 14:00:00 CET Deadline for submitting a request for assessment of (foreign) organisations for pre-proposals 16 February 2027 14:00:00 CET Deadline for submitting a request for assessment of (foreign) organisations for proposals Pre-proposals 3 February 2026 14:00:00 CET Deadline pre-proposals March 2026 Committee assesses pre-proposals April-May 2026 Applicants receive an advice about whether or not to elaborate on their pre-proposal and turn it into a proposal Synergy workshops July 2026 Synergy workshop session 1 October 2026 Synergy workshop session 2 December 2026 Synergy workshop session 3 Proposals 2 March 2027 14:00:00 CET Deadline proposals April - May 2027 Interview and assessment committee meeting May - June 2027 Decision by the board 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 submission of a pre-proposal is compulsory for this Call for proposals. In phase 1, pre-proposals have to be submitted via ISAAC. The pre-proposal covers the living labs as described in subsection 2.

2. 3. In addition, the pre-proposal should describe the method that will be used for the research, and outline what opportunities exist for collaboration with consortia working on the other research contexts.

Finally, the pre-proposal describes which potential consortium members, such as collaboration partners and co-financiers, are still envisaged in phase 2. Prior to the submission deadline for pre-proposals, NWO will organise a matchmaking meeting on 6 November 2025 (see subsection 4. 2.

1 and the timeline in subsection 4. 2. 14).

Additional information on the matchmaking meeting will be announced at a later date on the programme page of the NWO website. A pre-proposal must leave sufficient room for collaboration, adjustments and synergy with other pre-proposals so that in phase 2, the pre-proposals selected can be developed into one single integrated project.

During phase 1, no detailed budget specifications will be requested, given that the definitive proposed project activities will only be finalised in phase 2. The main applicant and co-applicants of the selected pre-proposals will be invited to develop one single full proposal for phase 2. Mandatory consortium-building activities The main applicants whose pre-proposals have been selected are obliged to take part in the synergy workshops.

If a main applicant has been unable to attend, for example in the event of force majeure as referred to in the NWO Force Majeure Extension Scheme, a replacement participant must have taken part in the synergy workshops. Co-applicants and collaboration partners of the selected pre-proposals are also invited to participate. The pre-proposal should be drawn up in the template provided by NWO.

The full proposal should be drawn up in the template provided by NWO. For a full proposal the following annexes are compulsory: declarations of commitment of cooperation partners; Declaration of de-minimis support (mandatory if applicable, see paragraph 3. 1.

1 and 3. 5. 8); declaration co-funding from co-funders (mandatory if applicable); letter guaranteeing the continuity of the project supervision (compulsory if applicable, see paragraph 3.

1); form 'Statement and signature'.

Downloads for your application NWA Municipal Policy for Biodiversity restoration | call for proposals NWA Municipal policy for biodiversity restoration | form pre-proposal (in Dutch) NWA Municipal policy for biodiversity restoration | research organization statement (in Dutch) 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 submitted the pre-proposal form? 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? 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