{"id":125456,"date":"2021-04-14T14:58:18","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T12:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=125456"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:33","slug":"growth-fund-billions-allocated-to-research-conditional-funding-for-education-related-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/04\/14\/growth-fund-billions-allocated-to-research-conditional-funding-for-education-related-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"Growth Fund: billions allocated to research; conditional funding for education-related plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

At some point in the future, the Netherlands will run out of natural gas. So where will our wealth come from when that happens? The National Growth Fund was established to help the country profit from knowledge, innovation and infrastructure. The government will endow the fund with \u20ac20 billion in the next five years.<\/p>\n

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The fund was established to allow for major one-off expenditures that will help the Netherlands earn money in the future. The establishment of the fund was predicated on the idea that if we inject capital into a few brave ventures, the Netherlands will be able to weather the storms of the future.<\/p>\n

The Cabinet asked a committee made up of heavyweights to assess several grant applications, and its decisions were\u00a0announced last Friday<\/a>. For now, there will not be any grants for infrastructure-related projects, but those involved in scientific research have received some good news, and some people involved in education have as well.<\/p>\n

\u20ac646 million<\/h2>

A total of \u20ac646 million was allocated in this first round, \u20ac525 million of which was allocated conditionally. Nearly \u20ac3.5 billion will be kept in reserve, \u2018pending more detailed proposals or proven success\u2019, in\u00a0the words<\/a> of the advisory committee.<\/p>\n

The committee predicts that not all the chosen projects will be successful. \u201cSome projects may be more successful than expected, while others will be less successful than expected. What matters is that the portfolio as a whole will have a positive impact on sustainable growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Research<\/h2>

Applicants involved in research and innovation were the most successful. \u20ac121 million was awarded unconditionally to applicants whose proposals related to artificial intelligence, quantum computers and regenerative medicine featuring stem cell and gene therapy.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, \u20ac400 million will be allocated provisionally, with the projects receiving the funding if they meet certain additional conditions. This includes two projects relating to national health data and hydrogen as a source of green energy. And on top that, \u20ac833 million will be \u2018reserved\u2019 for five projects, meaning that they may receive funding later.<\/p>\n

Education sector<\/h2>

Two education-related grant applications were awarded funding, but only subject to conditions: \u20ac45 million for lifelong learning and \u20ac80 million for better teaching involving IT. An application for \u2018policy experiments\u2019 in the education sector was not approved.<\/p>\n

Lifelong learning is about the training employees receive in their later careers, allowing them to remain flexible and keep acquiring new knowledge. The applicants wish to develop an online training course database and experiment with special \u2018learning recommendations\u2019, for which they may (conditionally) receive millions of euros\u2019 worth of funding. They also wish to make post-initial classes for government-funded students more flexible, but the committee feels they do not need a huge amount of funding for that.<\/p>\n

The coronavirus pandemic has considerably accelerated the switch to online teaching, but online classes can probably be taught better than they currently are. The committee feels that a National Teaching Lab could contribute to that, so it, too, will receive conditional funding.<\/p>\n

Infrastructure<\/h2>

The infrastructure sector will not be granted any funding at all for now \u2013 not even conditionally. This may change later, though. For instance, the committee feels that extending Amsterdam\u2019s North-South Metro Line to Schiphol Airport and Hoofddorp is a good idea, but does want the applicant to submit a better plan. Other ideas were rejected out of hand. The committee failed to see the huge benefit to be reaped from transport tubes, light rail transport or making rivers more easily navigable.<\/p>\n\n\t

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Here you can read why science has been included in the plans<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t