The National Science Agenda (NWA) call, “Economic Structural Change in South Holland: Space for an economy that contributes to broad prosperity,” is open from March 9. With this call, NWO (the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research) aims to contribute to the development of insights and action perspectives to support economic structural change in South Holland. This call uses a Sandpit procedure.
About the call
In the province of South Holland, there is a great need for insight and frameworks for action to accommodate economic structural change. Although the province is one of Europe’s most innovative economies, growth in the region lags behind. Also, not everyone benefits from the (broad) prosperity and the distribution of scarce space in the province leads to complex trade-offs between economic, social and ecological interests. To work towards a sustainable, future-proof and competitive economy, South Holland faces the challenge of making sharp choices at the intersection of economy, space and broad prosperity. This call aims to approach the issues integrally and arrive at a broadly supported perspective on structural change.
Sandpit Workshop
To increase the chance of impact of research, collaboration between researchers, with researchers from other disciplines and with partners such as companies and civil society organizations is needed. NWO supports the formation of a consortium by organizing a Sandpit. The aim of the Sandpit is to establish collaboration in a new partnership, resulting in a single joint application. Read more about what a Sandpit workshop entails on NWO ‘s website.
To determine who can participate in the Sandpit workshop, this program has a round of selection based on Expressions of Interest submitted by individuals. A maximum of 30 participants can be selected to participate in the Sandpit.
Budget and deadlines
The grant ceiling for this call for proposals is 2.8 million euros for one research proposal. C orinancing is possible within this call for proposals, but not required. The deadline for submitting individual Expressions of Interest is April 9, 2026. The deadline for submitting the full application is Jan. 12, 2027.
Online information session
On Monday, March 16, 2026 NWO is hosting an online information meeting for this NWA call. Those interested in this Call for proposals are cordially invited to attend the meeting. NWO will explain the purpose and design of the call and provide practical information about the Sandpit procedure. Sign up here.
Call to politicians: invest in broad prosperity
17 March 2026
