NWO Open Technology Programme (OTP) 2025

NWO Open Technology Programme (OTP) 2025 is sponsored by Dutch Research Council (NWO). The NWO Open Technology Programme (OTP) provides funding for application-oriented technical-scientific research that is free and unfettered by disciplinary boundaries. It aims to realize knowledge transfer between technical sciences and users.

Open Technology Programme 2025 | NWO Update 30 October 2025: The Open Technology Programme 2025 call was closed early on 30 October at 14:00 because the grant ceiling had been reached. Proposals submitted before 31 October at 14:00 CET will be placed on a reserve list. Update 29 October 2025 : The application round closes early, see yellow bar.

The Open Technology Programme (OTP) aims to stimulate free and unrestricted applied and technical-scientific research within the scope of the NWO Domain AES. The programme is characterised by the absence of disciplinary boundaries and promotes research that leads to societal and/or scientific impact.

Researchers can, depending on the nature and objectives of their research, decide for themselves whether the focus is on scientific impact, societal impact, or a combination of both. Collaboration with relevant knowledge users from the public and/or private sectors is a key feature of the OTP, allowing for increased application of research results and impact opportunities.

The OTP is specifically intended for research activities and is not intended for applications predominantly focus on other activities, such as investments, contract research or clinical trials. Researchers may submit an application if they have a tenured position (and therefore a paid position for an indefinite period) or a tenure track agreement at one of the following research organisations: universities as referred to in Article 1.

8 paragraph 1 of the Higher Education and Scientific Research Act and universities listed in the Policy Rules for Universities located in the Kingdom of the Netherlands; university medical centres by which is meant academic hospitals as referred to in Article 1.

13 paragraph 1 of the Higher Education and Scientific Research Act; institutes affiliated to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) or NWO; Netherlands Cancer Institute; the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen; Naturalis Biodiversity Center; Advanced Research Centre for NanoLithography (ARCNL); Persons with a zero-hour employment agreement or with a contract for a limited period of time (other than a tenure track appointment) may not submit a proposal.

Per project, a grant amount of at most €950,000 can be applied for. For projects with an investment character, where more than € 150,000 in investments are requested, a maximum of € 1,050,000 can be applied for. For both projects with and without an investment character, co-funding is required if the total project costs exceed €700,000.

The minimum required co-funding is 25% of the project costs above €700,000, with no distinction between co-funding in cash or in kind. The maximum duration of the proposed project is 6 year. The applicant and co-applicants can include costs for personnel, equipment, investments and knowledge utilisation.

Apply only for funding that is vital to realise the project. Applications can be submitted on a continuous basis between 13 January 2025 until 12 December 2025 , as long as the grant ceiling or the maximum number of applications submitted has not yet been reached. Proposals are assessed for scientific quality (50%) as well as impact (50%).

Applications will be submitted to a jury. Each jury will consider 18 applications in order of receipt, provided they meet the conditions for submission. Applications are assessed by international independent referees.

The research proposal, the referee reports and the rebuttal are scored by an independent multidisciplinary jury consisting of 10 to 12 members on the criteria ‘scientific quality’ and ‘impact’. A ranking is determined based on these scores. The Board of NWO Domain Applied and Engineering Sciences takes the final award decision based on the prioritization of the proposals.

Composition of the committee/jury Please note that it is possible that not all committee or jury members mentioned on this page have assessed all pre-proposals or applications, for example in the context of the NWO Code for Dealing with Personal Interests. Please contact the round secretary if you have any questions about this.

The composition of the assessment committee may change between the phase in which preliminary applications are assessed and the phase in which full applications are assessed. For this reason, committee members who have assessed preliminary applications may not sit on the assessment committee that assesses applications. Please contact the round secretary if you have any questions about this.

Professor S. Sharif Azadeh In comparison to the Call for Proposals of OTP 2024, a number of (administrative) changes have been implemented. These are listed below: The conditions in case of early closure of the Call have been clarified (see section 1.

2); The maximum NWO contribution has been increased to €950,000 (€1,050,000 for projects with an investment character)(see Section 3. 2). The ceiling above which co-funding is mandatory has been increased to €700,000 (see Section 3.

5. 6); The budget modules have been updated. The NWO domain AES cleanroom regulation has been discontinued and integrated into the Materials budget module (see Section 3.

2); All applications are subject to the NWO Co-funding Scheme; this means, among other things, that cash co-funding is invoiced by the applicant rather than by NWO (see section 3. 5. 6); The deadline for making administration corrections to meet submission requirements has been shortened from four weeks to three weeks (see section 4.

2. 2); The deadline for submitting the rebuttal has been shortened from 10 working days to five working days (see section 4. 2.

4); The definition and role of users has been clarified (see Section 5. 1. 5).

For a full explanation see the Call for proposals. The total number of pages in the application form for chapter 2 and 3 together must not exceed 13 pages, and the total number of pages for chapter 4 must not exceed 2 pages The total number of words in the rebuttal must not exceed 2000 words. 2025 - early round closure The open call Open Technology Programme 2025 closes early because the grant ceiling has been reached.

Researchers who want to submit a grant application after the grant ceiling of the 2025 round has been reached, can apply for funding through the Open Technology Programme 2026 call. 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.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ) Open Technology Programme On this page, we answer the most frequently asked questions about the Open Technology Programme (OTP). If you still have remaining questions, please email or call the contacts listed. Please know we will update this FAQ as regularly as needed, based on the additional questions we receive.

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 or on the grant page of the Call for proposals.

Please download and use the forms in ISAAC. Below you will find examples of the required forms. The application should specify which problem or challenge the project addresses, as well as its goals, hypotheses, research methods, and the scientific feasibility of the project.

Additionally, at least four users who will be part of the user committee must be included, and in the application should describe how the research can lead to scientific and/or societal impact should be provided.

For this Call, in addition to completing the application form, please upload the following attachments: budget: always compulsory; declaration and signature of main applicant: always compulsory; declaration co-funding: compulsory if co-funding is involved; statement appointment and project supervision: compulsory if the applicant’s appointment does not cover the entire duration of the project (e.g., in the case of a tenure-track agreement); motivation for resubmission in Dutch or English: compulsory if the application is a resubmission of an application that was rejected in a previous OTP assessment procedure.

Downloads for your application Open Technology Programme 2025 | call for proposals Open Technology Programme 2025 | application form Open Technology Programme 2025 | budget form Open Technology Programme 2025 | model consortium agreement Open Technology Programme 2025 | statement and signature main applicant Open Technology Programme 2025 | declaration co-funding Open Technology Programme 2025 | statement appointment and project guidance Open Technology Programme 2025 | evaluation items referees Open Technology Programme 2025 | hourly rates in kind contributions 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. 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. Life sciences and medicine