📈 What can we learn from NWO funding patters in 2025?
Looking across all NWO grants awarded in 2025, the distribution over the year reveals some clear and useful patterns. Starting with Q4 2025, funding is clearly concentrated at institutional level. A limited number of organisations account for a substantial share of awarded funding in this quarter. Universiteit Twente stands out as the largest recipient, followed by institutions such as Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Technische Universiteit Delft, and Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. National research organisations, including Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen and the NWO-institutenorganisatie, also play a prominent role. This institutional distribution suggests that Q4 funding favours organisations with strong coordination capacity, experience in managing complex projects, and established strategic positioning.
Looking more closely at individual projects reinforces this picture. The largest Q4 awards are allocated to projects focused on 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐈, 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞. These are not short term or exploratory initiatives, but long horizon investments aligned with national research priorities.
The applicant perspective shows a similar pattern. The top funded applicants in Q4 are primarily affiliated with 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, with repeated representation of the same institutions. This indicates that funding success is shaped not only by individual proposal quality, but also by institutional context.
When placing Q4 in the context of the full year, additional dynamics become visible. The highest number of funded projects appears in Q3, with 651 unique grants. However, the largest total awarded amount is concentrated earlier in the year. Q1 alone accounts for over €300 millions, despite funding fewer projects than Q3.
This points to a shift in grant structure over the year. Early quarters tend to support fewer but larger awards, while later quarters distribute funding across a higher number of smaller projects. By Q4, both the number of projects and the total awarded amount decline, yet the strategic focus remains strong.
Taken together, this data shows that success in NWO calls is not only about proposal quality. Timing, grant size, institutional positioning, and thematic alignment all play a role. At ScoutinScience, we use funding data like this to benchmark projects, institutions, and proposal strategies. Not just to look back at what was funded, but to understand when certain types of projects are most competitive and how organisations position themselves within the broader funding landscape.
