NWO Open Competition L

NWO Open Competition L is sponsored by NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research). Funds experienced researchers to pursue promising research ideas or innovative initiatives of their own choosing across all scientific fields, including those that may involve AI interpretability or ethical aspects of AI.

Open Competition SSH | NWO NWO expands access to the SSH Open Competition The SSH Open Competition remains an overarching programme with various instruments, and its nature remains unchanged. However, instead of three, SSH will offer two Open Competition variants to better meet the needs of the scientific community.

The Open Competition XS will continue in its current form, but from 2027 it will also be open to researchers immediately after they have obtained their PhD. The most significant change is that the Open Competition M and L will be merged into one instrument, and that access to these will also be broadened. The Calls for Proposals are expected to be published in mid-September 2026.

We will also update the information on the programme page accordingly. Within the SSH Open Competition, funding can be applied for to support innovative, curiosity-driven research. With XS (known as Explore from 2027 onwards) and Expand, there is room for both small and large budgets, for short-term and long-term projects, and for research questions that are exploratory in nature or build on previous research.

See below for more information on each scheme and links to the grant pages. For this programme, your proposal must fall within the NWO domain of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). You should therefore consider well in advance whether your proposal is suitable in terms of content.

If you are in any doubt about this – for example, because your proposal is (partly) cross-domain in nature – please contact one of the programme’s contact persons well in advance of the deadline. This person can advise you on whether your proposal is thematically aligned with this call. However, the final decision rests with you.

Both XS/Explore and Expand use distributed peer review, where applicants assess each other’s research proposals. In XS/Explore, distributed peer review is used throughout the entire round, and proposals are assessed anonymously. In Expand, distributed peer review is applied only during the pre-application phase; in the full application phase, proposals are assessed by referees and a committee.

Open for applicants who received their PhD at least five years ago. Available budget per round is 4 million euros. Maximum amount per application is 50,000 euros.

M and L have been merged into Expand. The round takes place annually and is open to researchers who have completed their PhD. The next deadline is expected in mid-November 2026.

Third round of the SSH Open Competition XS 2026 now open for applications From indigenous climate adaptation to fussy eaters: a wide range of topics in 81 new studies Unsung heroines and child interpreters: 51 projects launched in the SSH Open Competition L SSH Open Competition XS 2026 - round 3 SSH Open Competition Expand 2026 SSH Open Competition XS 2026 - round 2 SSH Open Competition XS 2026 - round 1 SSH Open Competition XS 2025 - round 3 Projects for this programme 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. Photo: Stefano Carnevali/Shutterstock. com