An article in the previous Resource on top-sector policy prompted them to ask questions about ‘the message that the allocation of DLO funding via the top sectors is largely an in-crowd thing’. This background article, part of the Wageningen UR & Business dossier on resource-online.nl, explains how research proposals are prepared within the top sectors and how the assessment process works for submitted proposals. The Socialist MPs want to know why most of the research funding is being granted to consortia of major companies and scientists who have quite a good overview of the fairly complex assessment criteria used by the top sectors.
Parliamentary questions about top sectors
Henk Kamp, the minister for Economic Affairs, needs to clarify the decision-making process within the top sectors, as Socialist Party MPs Eric Smaling and Sharon Gesthuizen have asked parliamentary questions about this.