NWO - Resilient Digital Ecosystems
The aim of the call ‘Resilient Digital Ecosystems’ is to develop socio-technical innovations and courses of action that increase the security and resilience of digital ecosystems. A security by design and security by default approach is strongly encouraged.
Practical information
- Application period: deadline phase 1 is 15 September 2026, before 14:00 CEST.
- Budget: The available budget for this Call for proposals is €8,702,072 in total. An amount of €7,500,000 is available for the first phase. For each phase 1 project, a grant amount of at most €1,875,000 can be applied for. Four or five applications are expected to be allocated within this phase. For the second phase, one overarching connection project can be awarded. The available budget for this phase 2 project is €1.202.072.
- Expected number of projects funded: 4 or 5
- Estimated project duration: Phase 1: maximum term is 72 months; Phase 2: maximum term is 48 months
- Subsidy programme: The Dutch Research Council (NWO)
For whom?
In order to increase the impact of the research, collaboration between researchers, researchers from other disciplines and partners from society, such as companies and societal organisations, is necessary. In this call, NWO supports the formation of a consortium by organising a matchmaking event (phase 1) for this call on 23 April 2026.
Meetings
The information meeting for phase 1 will take place on 19 March, 2026 (not mandatory).
The matchmaking meeting for phase 1 will take place on 23 April, 2026 (not mandatory).
About the call
The Call for Proposals has a two-phase structure. In the first phase, research into sector‑specific digital ecosystems is funded. In the second phase, these insights are translated into cross‑sector guidelines for action for stakeholders within sectors and within government, brought together in one overarching project. The outcomes can also be used to scale up interventions and to shape new digital ecosystems that are secure and resilient by design.
First phase proposals focus on the development of interventions or action perspectives for one or more specific digital ecosystems. All kinds of knowledge-related questions are of interest here. Possible research questions that arise at this stage in specific digital ecosystems include:
- How could the supervisory system for cybersecurity and cyber resilience be improved?
- How could the cybersecurity resilience of digital ecosystems be increased by education, training and practice?
- How could the cyber resilience of a digital ecosystem be measured and characterised?
- Which economic considerations and motivations come into play when deciding to participate in a digital ecosystem?
More research questions can be found in the call document.
Conditions
For more information, visit nwo.nl.
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- Dutch Research Council - NWO
