At the start of next year, NWO will open five new calls within the main line of NWO-KIC (Knowledge and Innovation Covenant) Mission. These calls specifically involve funding for impact-driven research by consortia of knowledge institutions, companies and civil society organisations. The themes chosen tie in with the Dutch central government’s mission-driven policy, in particular the knowledge and innovation agendas (KIAs) supporting this policy.
To give applicants and other stakeholders time to prepare, NWO has chosen to pre-announce the themes. The description for the future ‘Data spaces for the energy transition’ call was approved for further elaboration before the end of summer. Topsector ICT is participating in this call as part of KIA Digitalisation.
Below is a summary of the five thematic calls:
Biochemical diversity
This programme aims to help solve social and ecological challenges by gaining greater insights into and harnessing the potential of the earth’s biochemical diversity, present in living organisms such as plants and microbes. This can be achieved by 1) understanding their biosynthesis and 2) using this knowledge to create products for applications in biotechnology, plant breeding and similar fields.
Consumer behaviour as the key to the transition to a circular economy
This programme focuses on perspectives for system transitions. It takes a two-pronged approach: policy and behaviour on the one hand; business models, standards and suchlike on the other. For instance, lock-in and rebound effects can be prevented by linking the system transition to consumer choices for a circular economy, as well as to effective measures, interventions and strategies that stimulate such choices.
Medicines from medicines
Focusing on transforming and redesigning pharmaceutical supply chains, this research programme aims to develop the knowledge required for raw materials substitution, high-quality processing and lifetime extensions of pharmaceutical products. It also covers regulations, legislation and business cases for using circular raw materials in pharmaceutical manufacturing. New interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral knowledge is required to achieve the envisaged transformation and is led by two core questions: How can raw materials from returned or surplus pharmaceuticals be made acceptable for re-use in the pharmaceutical supply chain? And what changes or developments must happen in current manufacturing practices to facilitate this?
Smart Tech for Everyone, Everywhere
This research programme focuses on developing supporting technologies (concepts, products and services) that everyone can access and afford to use. These technologies are based on user preferences (demand articulation/technology pull), focusing on users of lower socio-economic status (SES). It aims to gain insight into the conditions for technology development and user acceptance, such as behaviour, marketing and communication. Research will also focus on why and under which circumstances business could gain from developing Smart Tech for Everyone, Everywhere.
‘Data spaces for the energytransition’ (initiated by Topsector ICT and Topsector Energy)
This call focuses on how we can enable the transition from a centralised to a decentralised energy system. New, digitalised energy systems increase the number of interactions between European, national, regional, local and, in some cases, hyperlocal systems. This leads to data being distributed at local and hyperlocal level, resulting in a greater need for interaction with other types of data in the built environment.
Find out more about dataspaces for the energytransition
The success of the energy transition largely hinges on the reimagining of complex energy streams. These systems will involve different sectors and be based on digital data exchange, enabling efficient, real-time management. This exchange will facilitate an energy system that is much better at accelerating, automating, scheduling and anticipating processes than today’s systems.
Failure to conduct more research and seek innovations in the connections with, and interoperability between, the different platforms and systems risks creating a digital maze that confuses users instead of facilitating upscaling. The development of a data space for energy is impossible on a single, centralised platform: it requires a modular, decentral framework, with existing data spaces organised in a federalised arrangement.
Calls open in Q1 2025
The new NWO calls, each with a budget of six to seven million Euros, should be open in the Q1 2025. Co-financing is required and may be provided either in cash or in kind (goods and services). Further information on each call can be found in the call for proposals, soon to be published in the Dutch Government Gazette.