NWO introduces embedding guarantee Veni and Vidi and pre-proposal for next Veni round social sciences and humanities

Two new measures in the upcoming funding rounds for Veni and Vidi within the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme (Vernieuwingsimpuls): 1) the introduction of an 'embedding guarantee' for Veni and Vidi and 2) as a trial, the NWO domain Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) will introduce an advance application phase in the next Veni round. All candidates for the next Veni round within the SSH should submit a pre-proposal by August 28, 2018.

The 'embedding guarantee' means that researchers can only submit applications for Veni and Vidi funding with the support of the institution where they intend to conduct their research. This measure stems from earlier measures announced by NWO and the agreements NWO has made with the Association of Universities in the Netherlands, the VSNU, all aimed at reducing the number of applications. It is expected to lead to fewer applications and be more consistent with the research institutions’ personnel policy. NWO will introduce the embedding guarantee with effect from the next application rounds for Veni and Vidi funding. Deadline for submitting a detailed application for the next Vidi round is October 2018 and for the Veni round, January 2019.  The template for the embedding guarantee will be published when the calls for Veni and Vidi are opened, which means at the end of June and the beginning of August, respectively.

The NWO SSH will pilot the use of a pre-proposal phase in the next Veni funding round. Aim of this measure is to save applicants time, and therefore money, and to further increase the quality of the selection procedure. The proposal will consist of a CV and a concise research idea. SSH is the only NWO domain where the embedding guarantee will have to be produced at the same time as the advance application is submitted.

The Innovational Research Incentives Scheme Veni, Vidi, Vici has been set up in 2000 by NWO, KNAW and the universities jointly. The aim is to promote innovation in the academic research field. The scheme is directed at providing encouragement for individual researchers and gives talented, creative researchers the opportunity to conduct their own research programme independently and promote talented researchers to enter and remain committed to the scientific profession.