Sustainable Science Fund
With this fund, NWO and KIN want to promote sustainability in scientific research practice among researchers and research institutions. Individuals or consortia can apply for a maximum of €50,000 for projects that focus on reducing the ecological impact of research activities. In other words, the impact on the environment, climate and living environment that is created by conducting research.
This call for proposals is for projects that focus on the development and sharing of knowledge and methods that researchers need to be able to make more sustainable choices from the design of a research. Researchers are partly dependent on the sustainability in their organization. That is why this call also offers room for sustainability issues that are widely discussed among research organisations and where a joint approach can accelerate the process. In addition, it is possible to grow, scale up or validate existing knowledge and initiatives and make them widely available. NWO wants to recognise and appreciate frontrunners for their efforts and encourage everyone to start making research practices more sustainable. The project can play a connecting role between the various stakeholders needed for anchoring and upscaling – such as researchers, research organisations, infrastructure providers, policymakers and other relevant parties in the research ecosystem.
Who is this call for proposals for?
- Research organisations and societal organisations that want to contribute to a more sustainable research practice.
Who can apply?
- Employees of knowledge institutions and societal organisations in the Kingdom of the Netherlands who want to contribute to making research practice more sustainable.
More details can be found in chapter 3.1 of the call for proposals for proposals.
Budget: Maximum € 50,000 per project
What can be applied for:
- Salaries of project partners
- Materials and resources
- Temporary hiring of experts
- Other project activities
- Student assistants
Not possible: Recruitment of new academic staff and basic facilities.
Desired duration: max. 12 months
Start: within 3 months of allocation
More details can be found in chapter 3.2 of the call for proposals.
- Proposals can be submitted until 27 January 2026 14:00:00 CET.
Please note! Start submitting your proposal in time in our submission system Isaac and ensure that project partners who are not in the Isaac database register at least 15 working days before the deadline via relatiebeheer@nwo.nl. For the assessment of additional knowledge institutions, the assessment documents should be sent by e-mail to programmas@hetkin.nl no later than 15 working days before the submission deadline (i.e. no later than 6 January 2026 before 14:00:00 CET).
More information on preparation, mandatory annexes and submission requirements can be found in sections 3.3 and 3.4 of the call for proposals.
Criteria
Proposals are assessed on two aspects:
- Relation to the call and quality
- Feasibility of the activity plan
Please note, for this call for proposals, the main applicants are also the assessors. For the full assessment aspects, please read chapter 4.2 of the call for proposals.
Procedure
This call for proposals for proposals encourages the transition towards sustainable science through open knowledge sharing and peer review. Main applicants assess each other's proposals in two groups, with consideration for conflict of interests and diversity. The assessment is based solely on the proposal, which must be widely accessible and clearly written. The chosen methodology utilises the expertise of applicants and promotes diverse feedback. Each assessor ranks the proposals they have received for assessment based on the assessment aspects (see section 4.2). The KIN bureau draws up a final ranking based on the priorities set by each group. The steering group reviews the procedure and decides on the allocation of grants. There is no possibility of appeal. If the number of proposals is too low or if conflicts of interest impede peer review, the assessment will be carried out by an independent committee.
n 25 November and 9 December, KIN organised online information sessions about this call and the call 'Transformative Practices and Processes for Climate Transitions' which also falls under the 'Science in Transition' programme line. Would you like to view the presentation from the information session? Or do you have another question about this call for proposals? Please contact programmas@hetkin.nl.
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 ISAAC and ensure that project partners who are not in the Isaac database register at least 15 working days before the deadline via relatiebeheer@nwo.nl. 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.
Projects must contribute to at least one of the following objectives:
- Adapting existing knowledge and/or methods
- Validating existing knowledge and/or methods
- Further development of existing knowledge and methods
- Developing new knowledge or methods
- Capacity building
Projects should in any case focus on the following aspects:
- Optimising impact
- Knowledge utilisation and dissemination
- Knowledge transfer and embedding
- Scalability and portability
An explanation of the above can be found in the call for proposals (H2.1)
Clearly describe what you will do, why, and how the results will be shared.
- Co-creation & knowledge development: Show how different types of knowledge come together in the methods and processes.
- Be creative and concrete: Design-oriented, activist or creative approaches with clear impact are welcome.
- Write accessibly: The main applicants are also the assessors and come from academia and practice with different areas of expertise.
For this call, next to filling in the application form, we also ask you to enclose:
Mandatory attachment(s):
- budget.
Optional attachment(s):
- If applicable: de minimis declarations for societal organisations.
You can find more information about the programme ‘Science in transition’ here.
Downloads for your application
- Do you already have an account in Isaac?
- Have you completed the application form?
- Have you completed the budget form?
- Have you completed the budget form?
- Have project partners from societal organisations and/or additional knowledge institutions without assessment submitted a de-minimis declaration?
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.