Income and expenditure NWO

Investments

Data publication

In this data publication we show the extent and development of the income of the research council NWO by source of funds, and the extend and development of the expenditure of NWO in millions of euros.

In short

  • The biggest source (85%) of income for NWO is the ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW).
  • Over half of NWO funds go to universities.
  • NWO expenditure in 2024 rose with over €100 million with respect to 2023, while income decreased with almost €100 million.
Source: Financial accounts NWO
Notes: The income from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) includes both basic funding and specific (earmarked) funding. Third-party contributions are revenues of other ministries, EU subsidies, other governments and non-profit organizations, and companies. 'Other income' includes income from patents and licensing (€0 in 2024), the sublet of buildings, and internet exchange housing (AMS-IX). Data can be downloaded through the Excel file at the bottom of this page.
Source: Financial accounts NWO
Notes: The figures represent allocated funding, i.e. financial commitments on the part of NWO, not necessarily actual spending. 'Cash contributions third parties' is a negative spending post, representing funds from companies and other third parties collected by NWO and transferred to receiving parties. 'Other research institutes' includes ZonMw (€66 million, 2024). The amount for OCW concerns a claim with regard to change in OCW bookkeeping (further explanation at the bottom of the page).

Income mainly from OCW

Some 80 to 90% of NWO's income comes from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW). The income from OCW increases gradually between 2001 and 2017. In 2018 there is a large increase. The main reason for this increase is an amount of 186 million euros for sector plans, for the digital and large-scale infrastructure, for the National Science Agenda and for the governing bodies National Regieorgaan Education Research (NRO) and National Regieorgaan Praktijkgericht Onderzoek SIA (NRPO-SIA). In addition to income from OCW, NWO also has other income and contributions from third parties. The contributions from third parties increase over time but decrease in 2020, possibly as a result of the corona crisis, but increased since 2021 up to 208 million euros in 2024. The 'other income' is more erratic, fluctuating between 5 and 20 million year-to-year.

Expenditure especially at universities and institutes

Total NWO expenditure increased significantly since 2015, partly because the increased set of tasks since 2018. Over the last 10 years the total expenditure increased by over 500 million euros to over 1.4 million euros in 2024.

Over half of NWO expenditure goes to universities every year. About 20% is spent on NWO institutes, though this has decreased to about 15% in recent years. Administration costs fluctuate between 6% and 10% of total expenditure and consist of program costs and NWO administration costs.

NWO prepares the financial statements in accordance with the accrual system (RJ 660). This means that the expenses are accounted for when NWO grants funding instead of when it is paid out. As a result, liabilities that were financed with the government grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science were included as receivables on the balance sheet.

An important consequence of the transition to RJ 660 and the financing agreements with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science was that from 2013, part of the receivables from OCW could no longer be valued. As a result, this part of the OCW receivable was written down in 2013 and included in the other reserve.

In 2018 and 2019, various discussions were held between NWO and OCW about NWO's annual report. As a result, OCW has changed its view with regard to the long-term subsidy claim against OCW.

The changed view of OCW and the assessment of this against the applicable frameworks and guidelines for annual reporting that apply to NWO ultimately resulted in a full write-down of the long-term subsidy claim against OCW in 2018. This write-down will also be charged to the rest in 2018 brought in reserve.

Source: NWO 2019 Annual Report, page 59.

Download the Excel file with more data about NWO.

For an explanation of the used definitions and acronyms we kindly refer to the web page Definitions for Science in Figures.

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