NWO Talent Programme: Vidi

NWO Talent Programme: Vidi is sponsored by Dutch Research Council (NWO). The Vidi grant, part of the NWO Talent Programme, is aimed at experienced researchers who are ready to establish or expand their own research group.

NWO Talent Programme Vidi Science 2025 | NWO 27-01-2026: several documents have been added to the downloads The aim of the NWO Talent Programme is to provide creative space for adventurous, talented, pioneering researchers to do research of their choice, develop their own line of research and further develop their talent.

Applications can be submitted by candidates who have obtained their PhD, irrespective of whether they hold tenured positions and of whether they come from the Netherlands or abroad. Candidates may only submit an application if they have obtained their PhD in the eight years preceding the benchmark date of this round, 1 October 2025.

An extension to the above career-dependent submission period may be possible under specific circumstances (see Section 3. 4. 2 of the Call for proposals).

A maximum of € 850,000 can be applied for within this Call for proposals. The maximum duration of the proposed project is five years. If the proposed research is of shorter duration, the maximum amount will be reduced accordingly.

It is also possible to carry out the research part-time without extending the duration of the project. The deadline for submitting preproposals is 4 november 2025, before 14:00:00 CET. The deadline for submitting full propoals is 9 april 2026, before 14:00:00 CEST .

The preproposal submitted within this Call for proposals will be substantially assessed on the basis of the following criterion: Quality of the researcher. The applications submitted within this Call for proposals will be substantially assessed on the basis of the following criteria: Quality and innovative character of the research proposal (75%); Scientific and/or societal impact (25%).

submission of the preproposal; admissibility check of the preproposal; assessment of the preproposal; provisional advice assessment committee; possibility of filing a request for the correction of a factual error; decision-making preproposal; submission of the full proposal (only possible if you have received a positive decision on the preproposal); admissibility check of the full proposal; assessment of the full proposal; provisional advice assessment committee; interview selection (ZonMw only); interview and meeting of the assessment committee; Applications from the Earth Sciences, Astronomy, Chemistry, Computer Science, Life Sciences, Physics and Mathematics will be submitted to the Science domain.

The Science domain has a single submission window and six panels in which Vidi preproposals are assessed. You can indicate the panel of your choice in the application form. Within the Science domain you can choose between the following panels: Earth Sciences; Life Sciences; Chemistry; Physics and Astronomy; Mathematics; Computer Science.

The full proposals are assessed in a domain-wide competition. Interviews will take place in three broad clusters. Candidates will therefore be interviewed and assessed by committee members from their own discipline and other disciplines in the Science domain.

Since 2019 on NWO has asked candidates for an 'embedding guarantee' from the start of the application round for NWO Talent Programme Vidi funding. Researchers can only submit applications for Vidi funding with the support of the Dutch institution where they intend to conduct their research. It is expected to lead to fewer applications and to be more consistent with the research institutions’ personnel policy.

The embedding guarantee format can be found under ‘Prepare’. As of 2023, the Vidi uses an optional literature list of max. ten pieces of relevant scientific literature closely related to your research idea.

NWO will use the literature list - along with your research idea, key words and specified discipline(s) - to search for potential external reviewers for your full proposal. Your literature list will not be submitted to the committee.

Frequently asked questions On this page you will find an overview of the most frequently asked questions about the NWO Talent Programme, including questions about the set time limit to submit a proposal (and any exceptions to it) and the embedding guarantee: FAQ | NWO 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. In the application form the information on rules and guidelines (the explanatory notes) are embedded in the form. Please expand the ‘Explanatory Notes’ for information on terms, conditions and requirements.

Note: on Apple computers the rules and guidelines can be made visible by selecting ‘Outline’ under the ‘View’ tab in Word. Also, the rules and guidelines are automatically visible when you open the form in Google docs. Please note: The Science domain has a single submission point and six panels in which preproposals are assessed.

You can indicate the panel of your choice in the application form. Within the Science domain you can choose between the following panels: Earth Sciences; Life Sciences; Chemistry; Physics and Astronomy; Mathematics; Computer Science.

The preproposal has to be written in English and contains an evidence-based curriculum vitae of the applicant, consisting of: a description of the applicant’s academic profile (1200 words); a description of the applicant’s key output (minimum 400 and maximum 700 words); short research idea (max. 150 words). NWO has recently updated the instruction for writing an EBCV .

The updated instruction can be found in the application form for the Vidi. We would also like to draw your attention to the existence of an international digital platform to support narrative style CV writing ( PEP-CV ).

The full proposal has to be written in English and contains: a description of the research proposal, a motivation for the choice of institution, and a description of the fit between the research proposal and the applicant’s academic profile (maximum 4000 words including in-text references); a section on scientific and/or societal impact (maximum 1000 words); a section on data management; and Mandatory annex to the preproposal: Optional attachment to the preproposal: literature list for referees.

mandatory annex to the full proposal: Optional attachment to the full proposal (see section 3. 5. 6): statement exceeding maximum funding.

Downloads for your application NWO Talent Programme Vidi 2025 | call for proposals NWO Talent Programme Vidi 2025 | full proposal form NWO Talent Programme Vidi 2025 | literature list NWO Talent Programme Vidi 2025 | budget sheet NWO Talent Programme Vidi 2025 | statement exceeding maximum funding NWO Talent Programme Vidi 2025 | declaration co-funding NWO Talent Programme Vidi 2025 | LaTeX templates 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?

(At the pre-proposal phase): Did you submit the embedding guarantee, signed by the dean of your faculty? Have you chosen the right submission window for your application, or contacted NWO about this matter? 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