A new funding opportunity has been launched for joint research between a citizens’ collective and a research institution. This is a great opportunity to strengthen the link between society and science and to set up a research project together. The Citizen Science Call is available through the National Science Agenda (NWA) under the Smart, Liveable Cities route. A total of € 100,000 is available, and one research project will be funded.
We warmly invite collaborations between citizen collectives and research institutions wishing to carry out a joint research project lasting up to one year to submit a proposal. You will find all the information you need on this page.
What is the NWA Smart Liveable Cities route?
The NWA promotes joint research between the scientific community and society. There are a total of 25 thematic routes focusing on different topics. The theme of this route is ‘Smart, Liveable Cities’ and focuses on social, ecological and digital challenges in and beyond the city. The route investigates how areas – from cities to villages and the countryside – can be made future-proof to tackle challenges such as the climate crisis, digital autonomy and the great transitions.
In particular, we would like to invite citizen collectives such as housing collectives, energy communities, food collectives, urban makers, maker labs, etc., which focus on creating local and social value – from cities to villages and the countryside – to submit a research proposal in collaboration with a knowledge institution. What knowledge do you need that contributes to a ‘smart and liveable city’? Consider the physical, digital and social layers of the city – how is the environment designed (both built infrastructure and nature), what is the role of technology, and how do residents have a say in these kinds of urban developments?
Do you have an idea for a research project that fits within the Smart Liveable Cities track? If so, we warmly invite you to submit a proposal. Do you have an idea but no citizen collective or research institution to collaborate with yet? Let us know, and we’ll see if we can connect you with someone. Please email mercedes ⟨ at ⟩ waag.org.
Practical details
- The process is accessible. It involves a citizens’ collective and a research institution jointly submitting a research idea of no more than one page. This constitutes the pre-selection stage.
- Within this route, a maximum of two proposals will be selected during the pre-selection stage. They may develop their proposal further and submit a full proposal to NWO. For both selected proposals, a writing budget of €2,500 is available to the citizens’ collective to further develop the proposal. This budget is specifically for writing the full proposal.
- The two selected proposals may submit a full proposal to NWO. One of these two proposals will be selected by NWO and awarded funding. Please note: NWO also assesses proposals on quality; it is theoretically possible that neither proposal meets NWO’s quality criteria and that no proposal is awarded funding.
- A proposal consists of a main applicant (research institution) and at least one co-applicant or collaboration partner (citizen collective).
- A total of €100,000 is available for a single proposal. This is separate from the writing budget.
- A research project may last for a maximum of 12 months.
Important for citizen collectives: There are criteria that the citizen collective must meet in order to participate in the collaboration. Please read these carefully.
- The citizen collective must be a non-profit legal entity (e.g. an association or foundation)
- The citizen collective must represent a group of citizens.
- The citizen collective must play a significant role in the collaboration.
Further information about the process and the details of the criteria for citizen collectives can be found on the NWO’s NWA Citizen Science 2026 page and in the NWO’s Citizen Science Call for Proposals document (Dutch).
Timeline
- 3 June: Call announced online (and on Saturday 6 June during Hyperlink, an event forming part of the PublicSpaces conference).
- 26 June: Deadline for submitting proposals for the pre-selection to the route management team. Download the form at the bottom of this page and send it to mercedes ⟨ at ⟩ waag.org.
- Between 26 June and 17 July: 15-minute online pitch of the proposal. The top five proposals will be invited to an online pitch. Both the research institution and the citizens’ initiative will be invited to participate.
- 17 July: Feedback on proposals will be provided by this date at the latest. The two selected proposals may develop their research idea into a full proposal. They will receive a statement from the route management team enabling them to submit their proposal to NWO.
- 3 September: NWO assessment deadline. For details, see the NWO link below.
- 17 September: Deadline for submitting the proposal to NWO. For details, see the NWO link below.
Further information about the process can be found on the NWO’s NWA Citizen Science 2026 page.
Selection criteria for the route and assessment by NWO
A committee will be appointed by the route management team and will select two proposals from the submitted research ideas based on the following criteria:
- Overall quality of the proposal
- Alignment with the Smart Liveable Cities route
- Societal added value of the research
- Mutual collaboration between the citizen collective and the research institution
The top five proposals will be invited to give a short online pitch to explain their idea.
Please note: If there are more than 10 submissions, the route management will make an initial selection based on the above criteria, and this top 10 will be assessed in writing by the committee. The top five from this written assessment will be invited to give an online pitch.
If you have any questions, please contact mercedes ⟨ at ⟩ waag.org.
Registration
To register your citizens’ initiative, please use the form below. Complete it and send it to Mercedes Leipoldt via mercedes ⟨ at ⟩ waag.org.
