Science fund NWO (Dutch Research Council) faces budget cuts of another 21.9 million euros in the coming years. Minister Bruins aims to restore the ‘balance’ in funding.

Bruins has already cut the fixed budgets of universities and colleges by hundreds of millions. Now is the time for cutbacks on temporary funds, he wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives.

By reducing the research fund NWO’s budget, he aims to restore the ‘structural link’  between the fixed first flow of money and the second flow of funds, which comprises contributions to temporary research projects such as the Veni-, Vidi-, and Vici grants awarded annually by the NWO.

NWO is ‘unpleasantly surprised’ by the additional cutbacks. ‘The fact that research and education is targeted again is concerning’, says board executive Marcel Levi.

Subsidies slashed

The science fund faces a reduction of 8 million euros in 2026, which will increase to a structural reduction of 21.9 million per annum in 2029. These cutbacks are added to the budget cuts that were previously announced. An annual budget cut of 40 million euros for the NWO as of 2031 was announced during Budget Day. Additionally, the budget for specific projects was to be reduced by 50 million due to a price adjustment.

In his letter to the House of Representatives, Bruins details how the spending cuts that are included in the coalition agreement are to be implemented. PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB reached a coalition agreement in which several ministries were jointly tasked with a billion in austerity measures. Bruins’ plans cover 362 million of that total. The lion’s share of the cuts are shouldered by primary and tertiary education.

Unused money

There was not much to be gained from the tertiary education sector, according to Bruins, as many temporary funds have been transformed into permanent funds over the past few years. A total of 38 million euros will be saved, just under 60 million if NWO is included.

Some of these 38 million is taken from unused funds. Eleven million euros earmarked to ease the binding study advice was never used. Four hundred thousand for an imam programme was unused because the programme was never launched. Funds earmarked for improving tertiary education also remained unused.

‘Potentially harmful’

However, there are also funds that are impacted, such as PhD grants for teachers. Four of the five grant programmes will be stopped as of 2028, Bruins reports, saving 13 million euros. The NWO’s concerned response: ‘These grants being terminated at a time when everyone is aware of the fact that education in the Netherlands must be improved, is difficult to understand’, says Levi.

Bruins admits that the cuts in scientific research will hurt. They are ‘potentially harmful to the Netherlands’ competitiveness.’ He will discuss the details of the measures with the NWO.

The Ministry of Public Health announced a reduction in their subsidies for scientific research on Tuesday. The ministry intends to cut the funds for scientists investigating the quality of healthcare and efficacy of healthcare spending by 72 million.