Government support for R&D in the Netherlands - by type of funding
Government R&D funding can be divided between institutional funding and project or program funding. In this data publication we show the development of the share of project financing by the Dutch government over the years. We then look at the distribution of project and institutional funding of R&D expenditure per department.
In short
- The share of project funding from the Dutch government in 2024 is 36%.
- The share of project financing is expected to rise due to the National Growth Fund.
- The share of project and institutional funding varies greatly between departments.
Direct government support for R&D in the Netherlands
| Share project funding | Budget and future estimates | |
| 2005 | 23,3 | |
| 2006 | 25,4 | |
| 2007 | 26,4 | |
| 2008 | 26,3 | |
| 2009 | 29,2 | |
| 2010 | 30,8 | |
| 2011 | 30,4 | |
| 2012 | 29,2 | |
| 2013 | 29,4 | |
| 2014 | 28,3 | |
| 2015 | 27,6 | |
| 2016 | 30,8 | |
| 2017 | 31,3 | |
| 2018 | 33,4 | |
| 2019 | 32,9 | |
| 2020 | 31,3 | |
| 2021 | 33 | |
| 2022 | 32 | |
| 2023 | 33 | |
| 2024 | 36 | |
| 2025 | 33 | |
| 2026 | 41 | |
| 2027 | 41 | |
| 2028 | 41 | |
| 2029 | 38 | |
| 2030 | 37 |
Analysis
Direct government support for R&D can be distinguished by type of funding: institutional funding on the one hand and project funding on the other hand. The share of project funding has been increasing between 2005 and 2010, followed by some fluctuations. Between 2010 and 2015 the share of project funding declined, largely as a result of the phasing out of various types of subsidies. After that, the share of project financing increased to 36% in 2024. In the coming years, the share of project funding in the Netherlands is expected to rise even further (41% in 2026), due to the National Growth Fund. After 2025, the share of project funding is expected to slowly decrease.
At 36% in 2024, the Netherlands has an average share of project financing when compared to the average of EU countries with available data (39%), due to the expected increase to 38% in 2025. The share of project financing varies widely between countries (to the extent information is available). For example, in Austria, 26% of government R&D expenditure will be spent via project financing in 2024, while in Belgium the percentage stands at 51%.
Direct government support for R&D per department
| Project funding | Institutional funding | |
| General Affairs | 0,555 | 0 |
| Justice and Security | 35 | 0 |
| Interior and Kingdom Relations | 38 | 0 |
| Foreign Affairs | 52 | 0,404 |
| Health, Welfare and Sport | 464 | 96 |
| Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature | 226 | 81 |
| Economic Affairs/Climate Policy and Green Growth | 962 | 488 |
| Social Affairs and Employment | 9 | 5 |
| Defence | 156 | 97,272 |
| Infrastructure and Water Management | 73 | 196,877 |
| Education, Culture and Science | 1.192 | 4.742 |
Analysis
The main departments providing institutional funding are Education, Culture and Science (OCW) with 80% and Infrastructure and Water Management with 73% (in 2024). The high proportion of institutional funding in OCW is largely due to the structural funding of universities (first flow of funds), which is two-thirds of the departmental research budget. Economic Affairs & Climate and Public Health, Welfare and Sport, both departments with a relatively large research budget, spent respectively 66% and 83% of their research budget through project financing. General Affairs, Justice and Security and the Interior and Kingdom Relations - both departments with a relatively small research budget - spent their research budget in full through project financing.