SSH Open Competition XS 2026 - round 3

SSH Open Competition XS 2026 - round 3 is sponsored by Dutch Research Council (NWO). Supports innovative and speculative research ideas in the social sciences and humanities.

SSH Open Competition XS 2026 - round 3 | NWO The SSH Open Competition XS Call for proposals is specifically intended to encourage curiosity-driven and innovative research that involves the relatively rapid exploration of a promising idea.

The characteristics of SSH-XS research are: the proposed research is innovative; it is not certain in advance whether the intended objectives will be achieved; the result of each project contributes to the advancement of existing science and new scientific insights.

Researchers with a promising idea who obtained their PhD at least 5 years ago may submit an application if they have a paid appointment at one of the organisations mentioned in paragraph 3. 1 of the Call for Proposals for at least the duration of the application process and the duration of the proposed project. The submission deadline for the round is the reference date of the graduation date.

The graduation date on the PhD diploma (degree) is leading.

an SSH-XS application has a single applicant and no co-applicants; an applicant may submit a maximum of one application within the NWO/ZonMw Open Competition programme in the same calendar year (2026); applicants may not have an NWO OC XS project at the time of submission for which the end date has not yet passed; principal and co-applicants for an NWO/ZonMw Open Competition project other than an XS may submit an application no more than one year before the planned end date of their project.

For an application in this Call for proposals a maximum of 50,000 euro can be applied for. The minimum duration of the proposed project is 6 months and the maximum duration is 24 months. The institution where the project is carried out can make a (financial) contribution to the project.

If this is done, a statement exceeding maximum funding must be submitted. Applicants are required to draw up a realistic budget and explain why the spending choices are relevant to the project. This explanation must cover all of the personnel requested.

Please only apply for funding that is vital to realise the project. A more detailed explanation of the budget modules can be found in the annexe to this Call for proposals (Section 7. 1).

For 2026, three deadlines for submitting applications are specified: Round 1: 20 January 2026, before 14:00:00 CET (closed), Round 2: 7 April 2026, before 14:00:00 CEST (closed), Round 3: 15 September 2026, before 14:00:00 CEST. When you submit your application in ISAAC, you will also need to enter some details online. Therefore, please start submitting your application at least one day before the deadline of the round.

Applications that are submitted after the deadline will not be taken into consideration. Applicants assess each other’s proposal through anonymous peer review. The assessors who rank the applications will focus on the following criteria.

These criteria are not weighted. At the discretion of an assessor, both of these aspects may be used for the purposes of ranking. However, that ranking must be accompanied by a short written explanation to substantiate the given rank based on the assessment criteria listed below.

Is the proposed research innovative and groundbreaking? Does the proposed research contribute to existing and new scientific insights? Does the research proposal potentially have a scientific impact?

Feasibility of the research plan The objective and work plan must be clearly described. Does the methodology seem suitable to achieve the indicated project goal? Is the planning of the research plan appropriate and are the activities included in the planning with sufficient clarity?

Does the expertise of the research team appear appropriate for the proposed research? Applications must be drawn up with a wide scientific audience in mind so that assessors from the selected panel will be able to properly evaluate the research plan and the assessment criteria described above. The distribution of disciplines across the panels can be found in annex 7.

3 of the Call for Proposals. The assessors may award a lower ranking to any applications that are drawn up in a way that is not accessible to those in other disciplines. Applications are divided into three panels.

The applicant determines by which panel the application will be processed by means of the information form (see Section 4. 2. 4 of the Call for proposals).

Applications processed per panel are divided into 2 groups, so that each panel consists of Group A and Group B. In principle, the classification takes place at the time of submission to NWO, taking into account the personal interests declared by the applicants. The assessors and applicants associated with a particular package of proposals do not meet.

NWO will decide the final rankings of the applications, based on the rankings submitted by the assessors. Per round, 6 final rankings will be established – per panel one for Group A and one for Group B. There will be no opportunity to dispute the rankings.

The SSH Domain Board will base its decision about awarding or rejecting the applications on the results of the 6 final rankings, the assessment reports and the available funding. 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. Please make sure to use these templates, and do not re-use a previous application file as the templates may differ for each round.

The research idea needs to be drawn up anonymously, which means the application form meets the following conditions: applicants should not include their own name nor the name of any individuals in their research group; applicants should not include details of any affiliations with institutes or knowledge institutions; applicants should not include references to any publications that they have authored or co-authored; applicants should not include the names of any (potential) partners.

applicants do not mention any other information on the basis of which they can be identified. Applications must be drawn up with a wide scientific audience in mind so that assessors from the selected panel will be able to properly evaluate the research plan and the assessment criteria. Compulsory annexes to a proposal in this Call for proposals are the Budget form (Excel) and the Information form (pdf).

If applicable, a statement exceeding maximum funding has to be submitted as well.

Downloads for your application SSH Open Competition XS 2026 | call for proposals SSH Open Competition XS 2026 | application form SSH Open Competition XS 2026 | information form SGW Open Competition XS 2026 | budget form SGW Open Competition XS 2026 | statement exceedance maximum funding 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 completed the application form? Have you completed the budget form? Have you completed the information form?

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 Computers and the humanities Music, theatre, performing arts and media Religious studies and theology