UPF Q&A

UPF is not emergency aid. The programme aims to restore Ukraine's economy and society sustainably via projects in circular construction, healthcare, sustainable energy, agriculture, and water.

UPF3 focuses on supporting projects in partnerships to contribute to reconstruction in Ukraine. It aims for a sustainable recovery of the Ukrainian economy and society in cooperation with the (Dutch) business community. UPF3 projects relieve pressure on the Ukrainian economy and society and contribute to the sectors of healthcare, water, circular construction, renewable energy and agriculture.

UPF3 is about projects from which broader local economic and social development emerges. The projects have a long-term impact on the local community or a chain of businesses and civil society organisations. Companies submitting a proposal preferably find alignment with the prioritised reconstruction plans of the (local) Ukrainian government.

UPF3 is not about projects that exclusively benefit one or more businesses or one civil society organisation.

Yes, you can. But, it is not allowed to have more than 2 UPF projects approved from the same group, partner or fiscal unit to which this company belongs.

No, there is no preference for larger or smaller projects. You can submit project proposals for a subsidy of 0.5 million to 4 million euros.

No, there are no earmarked amounts per sector and no even distribution across the sectors.

2 RVO advisors will assess your application. They will discuss minor uncertainties in your application with you. The RVO advisors ask the Dutch embassy in Kyiv for advice on, for example, the local context and impact. They also consult an advisory committee. Ultimately, RVO decides whether to award a subsidy following the conditions and description in the Government Gazette.

No, this is not possible. This application round has different criteria and modified objectives that your application must meet.

On Tuesday 7 October, we will organise an information afternoon on UPF3's approach, where you can discuss and network with our advisors. Please register via UPF informatiemiddag.

On Thursday 16 October, we will organise a follow-up webinar that will cover the practicalities of submitting your application and developing your project.

Yes, there is a mandatory quick scan for this subsidy round. You can submit it from 17 October 2025, 10:00 Central European Summer Time until 21 November 2025, 17:00 Central European Time. You will receive no-obligation advice from us on your quick scan.

Applicants should complete the subsidy application and all documents, annexes and reports in English. You may not submit a proposal in any other language, including Ukrainian.

Annual accounts must be submitted in English or Dutch; we do not need an official translation.

Annual and final reports following subsidy approval must be in English.

No, that is not possible. Your project plan must relate to a concrete and cohesive project. The results must contribute to the goal, which must be achievable within 4 years.

The project must start within 2 months of approval for a subsidy. Feasibility studies, inception phases, pilots and demonstration projects are not eligible for this subsidy.

No, this subsidy is not for experiments. Projects must have a tangible result. Due to the risks in Ukraine, it is less likely that projects without previous demonstrable success will succeed.

This means that we will assess the complete subsidy applications based on the order in which we receive them. We only accept complete applications that include all the required documents.
If you submit an incomplete application, you may still complete it during the application round.

To submit your subsidy application, please use the English apply page. You will need eHerkenning at least level 2+ or 3 for this. If you do not have eHerkenning, we advise you to apply for it first as the process may take some time.

• The online application form, to be completed by the applicant or lead partner. The link to upload this to the eLoket will follow once UPF3 is open for applications.
• The partner form, signed by all partners in the partnership, including the applicant.
• If an intermediary applies, they will need an authorisation from signed by each partner.
• The project plan.
• A project budget including a liquidity forecast in the specified Excel document.
• The cooperation agreement signed by all project partners.
• 2 recent annual accounts of the applicant in Dutch or English.
• Is the individual contribution more than €25,000? Then we also receive 2 recent annual accounts of the relevant partners. All partners must be able to demonstrate that they can take care of their own contribution within the project.

On the English apply page, you will find all the necessary documents for your subsidy application. Ensure you upload all documents complete and in English.
 

Yes, as long as the scheme is open for applications, you can withdraw or resubmit your application. The date on which you resubmit your application is your new application date. As we assess applications in the order in which we receive them, there is a risk that your new position in the order of assessment will be less favourable.
If we have approved your subsidy application, you can only change it under certain conditions and via a change request. You need your RVO advisor's permission to do this.

After submitting your complete application, you will receive a confirmation of receipt. It is not the confirmation that we have processed your application.

We only accept fully completed applications. You will receive a separate confirmation of receipt when you upload your application document to the eLoket.

From the date of completeness, we will notify you of the outcome within 13 weeks.

An advisor can contact you for clarification on anything that is unclear in your application. If your application is clear enough for us to assess but fails to achieve a satisfactory rating, we will not contact you for clarification.

We will contact you if we reject your application because it does not score highly enough on the facility's criteria and minimum scores.

Do you disagree with the outcome? Then you can object within 6 weeks. The rejection letter tells you how to do this.

Once the maximum subsidy amount is reached, no more funds are available for your project.

If your project proposal for UPF1 or 2 was rejected for this reason, it does not guarantee your priority or automatic eligibility for UPF3. Read the UPF3 criteria carefully to identify any changes needed to your project proposal.

For more information on reconstruction in Ukraine, visit the Netherlands government's website Nederlandse hulp voor Oekraïne (Dutch Aid for Ukraine). This website is in Dutch. 

During the assessment, we check the project proposal to assess whether the partners are pursuing shared objectives and whether:

• They are providing their required contribution,
• They are bearing risks,
• The partners have sufficient financial and implementation capacity,
• The partners have demonstrable experience in similar projects,
• The project partners have already approached stakeholders, including beneficiaries,
• The partners have already committed themselves to the project in writing.

Your project plan must describe how knowledge and assets will be transferred (via which channels), how you will arrange the communication and consultation with stakeholders, and how you will ensure they continue to support this project. If this is not clear enough from your project plan, your plan may receive a lower score.

During the assessment, we will ask you extra questions, such as:

• How do the partners know each other, and for how long?
• What is the role of each partner?
• Does each partner have a role that is necessary for the project?
• How do the partners differ from each other? Why this particular partner?
• What does the management and consultation structure look like?
• How are decisions made? How often do meetings take place?
• Are the partners focused on jointly endorsed objectives?
• How are the project results shared?
• What happens if partners do not follow the joint agreements?

No, only private legal entities, such as businesses or social organisations, may form a partnership.

The lead party must be able to deal with any financial setbacks and unforeseen project costs. The project plan must show whether the lead party "is fully accountable and responsible towards the minister for implementing the proposed activities and compliance with the obligations associated with the subsidy."

All financial obligations also fall under the above obligations. If it is not clear enough from your project plan that the lead party meets these requirements, your project plan may receive a lower score.

Besides the requirements of a partner, the applicant must also:

• Have a registered office in the Netherlands;
• Have at least 3 FTE in salaried employment;
• Have demonstrable experience in conducting activities in Ukraine.

Each partner must:

• Be able to demonstrate they have the expertise, knowledge and experience to implement project activities. This means at least 2 years of experience gained over the past 10 years. Partners can demonstrate this by using previous similar projects as examples;
• Have been established before 15 August 2023;
• Be needed to implement the activities, and
• Have a meaningful role in the partnership.

Furthermore, the following conditions apply to all partners:

• Partners are able, including financially, to meet the own contribution, implement the project and handle project risks.
• The partnership contributes at least 10% of eligible costs from its own resources.
• Partners follow OECD guidelines.
• We do not award more than 2 projects per partner. Previous subsidies awarded in earlier rounds are included in this count.

Please note:

• Ukrainian (semi-)governmental institutions cannot be part of the partnership. But it is possible to include them as beneficiaries.
• Partnerships that have worked together before more often achieve better results than new partnerships.

Even if the project partner does not receive a subsidy, the applicant (lead partner) must clearly and thoroughly define the role of each partner in the project. This includes activities and responsibilities, and explaining how the applicant will report on them.

We also assess whether the partners have sufficient demonstrated organisational and financial capacity to carry out project activities.

In the partnership agreement, all partners approve the project plan in writing. In this agreement, partners state that they agree on the following:

• The project's aim,
• The project's scope;
• The distribution of the roles and responsibilities,
• The obligations that each partner must meet.

The partnership agreement also includes:

• the role of all partners,
• the contribution each partner makes to the project,
• the cooperation that partners provide and the responsibilities they have,
• how coordination between partners takes place,
• how compliance with the agreements made is safeguarded,
• how compliance with the obligations associated with the subsidy is safeguarded.

All partners must sign the partnership agreement. We do not accept signatures on behalf of partners, even if these were mandated by a partner or in a partner's absence. You can find a template partnership agreement on the English apply page.

All activities in the project plan must contribute to the project's primary goal. Your project plan has to use measurable data and examples to describe the target group or beneficiaries comprehensibly. You must describe the following:

• The starting position: The current situation, the challenges and needs;
• The project approach: Per project activity, the reasoning behind the chosen approach. Give examples of previous projects and demonstrable, measurable results;
• The intended, measurable results or KPIs resulting from the project activities.

The project plan must include the following:

• an outlined description of the activities;
• a baseline situation before the start of the activities;
• the intended results, including contributions to this subsidy programme. The aim is to specifically enlighten the Ukrainian public sector, contribute to reconstruction in Ukraine and sustainable recovery of the Ukrainian economy and society in health, water, circular construction, and sustainable energy or agriculture. This excludes emergency aid.
• the scope of the project;
• an explanation of how the activities address local needs in Ukraine and align with Ukrainian government policies and priorities, and the intervention strategy of international organisations on reconstruction;
• a justification on how the activities contribute to a structural recovery of the Ukrainian economy and society. This relates to improving the living conditions of the local population, focussing on vulnerable groups, in particular women, youth and war veterans;
• an explanation of the broader and longer-term economic and social impact;
• a description of the cooperation between the partners showing why each partner is necessary for the implementation of the project for which funding is requested. Each partner thus demonstrably fulfils a clear, active and significant role in the partnership;
• a description of the cooperation with and between the main stakeholders;
• a description of the local parties (beneficiaries) that will receive knowledge or goods, including a complete description of their roles in and contribution to the project;
• an explanation of how goods (if any) will be transferred to local parties and after-care organised, including how the longer-term impact of the project will be secured;
• an explanation of how the partners will implement the project in the complex war situation;
• a risk analysis with an overview of the main risks related to the project and associated reduction measures, which could include the following risks:
  • implementation risks in a war situation;
  • financial implementing risks;
  • risks concerning safe entrepreneurship;
  • other risks related to the project.

It is not possible to approve only part of the project plan and then specific activities. But in consultation with the applicant, we can cancel activities if the costs are not eligible for subsidy. 

UPF is a demand-driven facility. With UPF, the Netherlands government aims to contribute to Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction. For this reason, we expect applicants to provide an extensive and fact-based description of the local needs in Ukraine in connection with the war and how the project partners plan to address these needs.

You should prove this by referring to recent policy papers or reports published by the Ukrainian authorities, international organisations or official letters of recommendation from the Ukrainian government.
It is not sufficient to indicate that, according to the partners, the project plan fully complies with Ukrainian national or local government policy or international organisations' intervention strategies.

All expected project costs must be reasonable, logical and necessary to implement the activities. For this reason, you should explain all the project costs in the project budget form. Failing to do so may put your funding at risk.

UPF is a (90%) subsidy scheme. Following Dutch legislation and regulations, you may not incorporate profit markups in the budget.

Project management and coordination costs are subject to a maximum of 10% of total eligible costs.

The following costs are not eligible for a subsidy:

• costs for developing the application and applying for the subsidy, and expenses made before applying;
• sales tax (VAT) to the extent it is not a cost item;
• financing costs and interest payments;
• costs caused by inflation and exchange rate fluctuations;
• product development costs;
• licence fees;
• costs of acquiring land and existing buildings;
• costs of naming and maintaining intellectual property rights;
• contingencies;
• costs incurred after the project's end date, except for costs related to the mandatory external audit.

For an overview of all eligible costs, see section 5 of the publication in the Government Gazette.

The subsidy scheme covers a maximum of 90% of the eligible project costs. You should submit a budget and project plan for 100% of the eligible costs and activities. Then, you separate the 10% own contribution of the partnership and show who will fund the 10% and how.

This is the indexed admissible maximum hourly rate you may charge for staff directly involved in the partnership carrying out the activities for which you received the subsidy. This involves reimbursement or an allowance for actual labour costs, not commercial, market-based rates. The fees are reimbursable up to a maximum of 700 euros per day.

No, this is not allowed. Inflation, unforeseen costs and currency exchange differences are not eligible costs. The applicant is responsible for these costs and risks.

You must declare that:

• The project cannot be financed commercially. The applicant must demonstrate and explain why the project is not eligible for local or national commercial financing. A statement from a financial institution may be helpful;
• The costs claimed by the project partners do not include a profit markup;
• The partners are aware of the OECD guidelines and will act accordingly.

You can score extra points for UPF3 on the following topics:

• The project takes place in, near, or demonstrably benefits one or more of the following regions: Odesa, Mikolajev, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, and Donetsk.
• Besides the mandatory 10% own contribution, the partnership contributes a further 10% of the total eligible costs, from its own resources or from third-party resources other than the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You cannot contribute this extra 10% in kind. The number of bonus points to be awarded depends on the extent of the extra contribution.

The Dutch government and RVO emphasise that Dutch companies lead by example in Responsible Business Conduct (RBC). If you do business internationally with financial or other forms of support from the government, we expect you to operate responsibly.

After you have applied for a subsidy, we will ask you to complete an RBC scan.

International CSR risks and due diligence

Projects reduce or prevent potential negative impacts on people and the environment. An RBC risk approach can help achieve this. This process, also known as due diligence, examines the social and environmental risks of your activities abroad and your supply chain, how you prevent or reduce these risks, and how you communicate about them.

RBC guidelines and UPF

If you want to take advantage of the funding opportunities available from UPF, you must follow the RBC guidelines:

• The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. These guidelines also apply to Dutch SMEs and local businesses that receive support from the Netherlands government.
• Activities on the FMO Exclusion List are not eligible for funding under the UPF subsidy programme.

RBC in your application

• Specify your project's international RBC risks in relation to people, the environment and society. Describe what you will do to manage these risks. Use the Risk Checker to get a quick and easy overview of potential RBC risks.
• Establish a joint integrity policy and implementation plan for the project.
• If we grant you the subsidy you applied for, our advisor will discuss your specified international RBC risks with you during the initial meeting.
• We may include specific measures that we expect you to take to prevent or reduce identified international RBC risks in your subsidy approval letter.
• During the project, you should report on the measures you have taken to prevent, end or reduce RBC risks.
• We expect you and your partners to openly and proactively share this information with us.

For more information, see the following webpages:

• Responsible Business Conduct
• RBC and due diligence
• MVO-steunpunt (in Dutch)

Safe business practices focus on how appealing your company's unique knowledge, technology, or products are to others. This is particularly the case for vital infrastructure facilities, such as energy and water in high-risk countries. It is essential to minimise the risks, as failures, disruptions, or manipulations of these processes and services can have significant consequences for the functioning and success of your project.

Take the necessary precautions and be aware of any residual risks. You can achieve this by following these steps:

1. Protect your company data to the fullest extent possible.
2. Ensure that the technology and technical systems you use are secure and updated with the latest developments.
3. Evaluate whether you need to adopt the latest technology or the most advanced systems available.
4. Incorporate extra security measures or alert systems within your technology and technical systems.
5. Consider using a different data storage solution than what you typically use in the Netherlands.

For more information about critical infrastructure, see the website of the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security.

• You must start your project within 2 months of receipt of the subsidy approval letter.
• You must complete your project within 4 years.
• Your project proposal must show that your project can be completed within that time.

No. We will consider the project plan and the liquidity prognosis for an advance payment or a payment scheme up to, in principle, 90% of the awarded subsidy amount. We will coordinate this with you. We will pay the remaining 10% of the subsidy amount upon the project's completion.

If we approve your application, we will contact you to discuss it and determine the payment date with you. We can also help you communicate safely about your project. 

We will soon publish project management documents on our website.

Yes, this is mandatory. The costs of this audit are eligible for subsidy; you can include these costs in the project budget when submitting your subsidy application.

You will need our approval in advance if the change exceeds 10% of any budget category. If this change is less than 5,000 euros, you do not need our approval.

Please remember to provide a detailed report of any changes to the project resulting from budget changes. For example, if you replace one activity with another within the same budget, you must document this.

Outcome Harvesting is a monitoring and evaluation method we use to collect and analyse outcomes. This method monitors changes, not activities. We ask you to use this monitoring method to gain insight into the impact of your UPF project. Your advisor will provide more information on this during the initial project meeting.

The subsidy recipient should inform us immediately. We will work together to consider the options available within the subsidy programme.

If a project suffers damage or cannot be carried out, the subsidy recipient should report this to us. We will then consider the best solution. A project can, for example, be paused until the situation improves or cancelled. In the latter case, the subsidy recipient must repay the unused parts of the subsidy.

If the war results in higher costs, and you choose to continue the project, you can request an increase in the awarded subsidy during a subsidy round. This is only possible if UPF funding is still available.

The subsidy recipient is responsible for the safety risks in Ukraine.