For the next ten years a total sum of 188 million euros is available for the Summit grants, according to the application page that the NWO put online this week. Successful research proposals will get a budget of between 15 and 40 million euros, depending on the size and needs of the project.

Quantum leap

Last July, Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf announced that this new grant programme, which was then still under development, ‘will strengthen the long-term position of science in the Netherlands’.

The dual meaning of the word ‘summit’ – meeting and mountain top – is appropriate in NWO’s view because the Summit grant is aimed at collaborations between a variety of research teams that can demonstrate that they are among the ‘absolute world top’ in their field (or very close to it) and that they can make a ‘quantum leap’ with structural extra support.

All the Dutch universities, research institutes and academic teaching hospitals are allowed to take part. Each institution has until 20 June to register up to two collaborative projects, which have to comprise more than four researchers. In the end, six or seven consortia will be selected.