This programme is closed for now. You cannot apply for a subsidy at this moment.
Are you an international entrepreneur in the water sector? Would you like to use your innovation knowledge, expertise and strength for water safety and security in deltas, delta cities and river basins abroad? If so, apply for a subsidy from the Partners for Water (PVW-IVWW) scheme.
The Partners for Water (PVW-IVWW) scheme is closed for now. It will open for the second 2023 subsidy round from 30 June until 8 September 2023, 12:00 CEST. An online intake interview with our advisor is mandatory to apply for this subsidy. The deadline to apply for an intake interview for the second 2023 round is 11 August 2023.
By participating in this scheme, you will contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). This scheme falls under the Partners for Water (PVW-IVWW) 2022-2027 programme. This is a programme from the Netherlands International Water Ambition (NIWA). NIWA's goal is to increase water safety and security for humans, plants and animals.
For whom?
The PVW-IVWW subsidy scheme helps businesses, research organisations and NGOs that want to conduct a feasibility study or start a pilot project.
Feasibility study
You wish to study:
- the feasibility of a proposed pilot project abroad;
- the technical, financial and legal conditions for implementing a pilot project;
- the possibilities that will contribute to water safety and water security innovation.
In a feasibility study, you determine the project's strengths and weaknesses and the risks and opportunities. With a feasibility study, you investigate a problem that your method, technology or approach may solve. In preparation, you look at the project's financial and legal sides, potential partners, the market prospect, and the competition, among other things. The feasibility study should show whether your solution has enough chance to be successful. If not, there is no need to invest in a pilot project. If so, it may be a reason to start the pilot project.
Please note:
- A feasibility study is not general exploratory market research or a study where you investigate the situation further. For example, organising workshops with stakeholders or collecting and analysing information.
- The maximum project size for a feasibility study is €250,000. The maximum grant you can receive for eligible costs is between 50 and 70% of €250,000.
Pilot project
You want to carry out a pilot project to increase or enhance water safety and security abroad. A pilot project uses scientific, technological, commercial and other relevant knowledge and skills to develop an improved product, technology, approach or service. A pilot project involves experimental development, such as testing and trying out. This may lead to prototyping, showcasing, pilot development, and testing and approving new or improved activities. Experimental development does not include regular modification of existing activities. The pilot project aims to test your solution in practice on a small and workable scale. The pilot project's products, approaches or services are part of innovative Dutch knowledge and experience in water safety and security. Pilot projects are not knowledge enhancement projects.
Tangible and intangible application
- With a 'tangible' technology, you apply your solution to an existing situation or add it to an existing approach.
- With 'intangible' application, you apply your method to, for example, a part of a water area or within a small area. Successful methods can be applied to a whole river basin and beyond.
Project size and grant percentages for pilot projects
The maximum project size of a pilot project is €600,000. The grant contribution is a maximum of 40-60% of the project size. You must clarify how you will finance the remaining 40 to 60% of the budget.
Budget
Partners for Water is a 4-year subsidy programme for applications between 2022 and 2025. In 2023, PVW-IVWW will open twice. For these 2 rounds, a total subsidy of €5.7 million is available:
- First opening: From Friday, 20 January 2023 12:00 CET - Friday, 17 February 2023 12:00 CET;
- Second opening: From Friday, 30 June 2023 12:00 CEST - Friday, 8 September 2023 12:00 CEST.
A subsidy of no more than 70% of the eligible project costs is up for reimbursement for each project. The available budget per opening is as follows:
First opening 2023 (closed for applications)
- For feasibility studies: a maximum of €350,000
- For pilot projects: a maximum of €3,158,492
Second opening 2023
- For feasibility studies: a maximum of €350,000
- For pilot projects: a maximum of €1,900,000
Percentages of budgets for Partners for Water
% Feasibility studies from €25,000 to €250,000
| Large organisation | Medium-sized organisation | Small organisation, including micro | NGO, research organisation | Duration |
| Basic | 50 | 50 | 50 | 70 | |
| Increase for the type of organisation | - | 10 | 20 | - | |
| Total | 50% | 60% | 70% | 70% | 1 year |
% Pilot Projects from €25,000 to €600,000 | Large organisation | Medium-sized organisation | Small organisation, including micro | NGO, research organisation | Duration |
| Basic | 25 | 25 | 25 | 60 | |
| Increase for the type of organisation | - | 10 | 20 | - | |
| Increase in the case of, for example, a collaboration with at least 1 SME or widely spreading project results through conferences, publications, open data sources, and so on | 15 | 15 | 15 | - | |
| Total | 40% | 50% | 60% | 60% | 2 years |
Project aim
Partners for Water (PVW-IVWW) aims to foster water safety and security in a delta, delta city or river basin abroad. Water safety and security mean sustainable protection from too much, too little or too dirty water. To achieve this, you will have to use innovative Dutch knowledge and expertise. These must be innovative within the context in which they are being used. You have to adapt the knowledge and expertise to local circumstances. This subsidy or subsidy round is not for the financing or the scaling up of proven knowledge.
Terms and conditions
- drinking water;
- sanitation;
- water quality and availability;
- climate adaptation, drought and flooding risks, river basin management, resilient cities;
- biodiversity and water-related ecosystems;
- food production and sustainable agriculture;
- climate-proof water infrastructure and sustainable waterways and ports, but no onshore activities.
Target group: The pilot project or feasibility study has a clear target group in the country of application.
International Corporate Social Responsibility: Your project follows the guidelines for international corporate social responsibility (ICSR).
Applicant: A business, research organisation, or NGO must apply for a subsidy. Governments cannot apply. The applicant has an established base in the Netherlands before the Netherlands Enterprise Agency pays the first advance. Once the project is complete, the applicant must keep this base in the Netherlands until the Netherlands Enterprise Agency has determined the subsidy.
New, supplementary terms and conditions
The following conditions are new compared to the ones under the previous Partners for Water subsidy schemes:
Your contribution to SDGs: Projects with a subsidy from Partners for Water (PVW-IVWW) must contribute demonstrably to at least 1 of the water-related SDGs (sustainable development goals):
- SDG 2: Zero hunger
- SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation
- SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities
- SDG 13: Climate action
- SDG 14: Life below water
- SDG 15: Life on land
For more information on the SDGs, see the United Nations' website.
Impact assessment: Impact is one of the criteria for assessing subsidy applications. This criterion replaces the previous 'scaling up' criterion. Impact is the potential of an innovation to increase water safety or security for humans, plants and animals within the context in which it is being used. Impact also includes how the project seeks to achieve this impact.
Focus areas: The subsidy scheme's geographical focus areas are river basins, deltas and delta cities. This replaces the previous focus on urban deltas.
Climate and environment risks: Avoiding risks to the project's climate and environment now has a higher priority. Positive project contributions to biodiversity, circularity and climate now score higher.
ICSR: The Corporate Social Responsibility frameworks apply to all projects, with specific attention to the OECD guidelines. For more information, see Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Risk assessment: The application must include a risk assessment. This document states the most significant risks to achieving the project's objectives. The project plan also indicates how to identify and end the ICSR risks.
For more information, see the publication in the Government Gazette dated 2 May 2022 (in Dutch).
How to apply
Intake interview (mandatory)
Please complete the intake form and contact us for a mandatory online intake interview. Email us the completed intake form. During this interview, our advisor will take you through the scheme's terms and conditions and assessment criteria. This should give you a better idea of whether your application will be successful. The interview takes 45 minutes and will take place via Microsoft Teams.
- The deadline to apply for an intake interview is 11 August 2023.
- You can schedule the mandatory intake interview throughout the year. But, there is a deadline for individual tenders.
- You can no longer apply for an intake interview for the first 2023 subsidy application round.
Subsidy application
After your intake interview, you can apply for a subsidy via the apply page. You will find all the forms you need to send along with your application.
You may apply for a subsidy from Friday, 30 June, until Friday, 8 September 2023, 12:00 CEST. Without an intake interview, we will reject the application following Article 10(4) of the Framework Decision for subsidies I and M (in Dutch).
Following your application
- Within 13 weeks of the tender closing date, we will tell you whether your application meets the criteria for a subsidy.
- After the grant decision, we will contact you to plan a kick-off meeting.
Project management
- The applicant has to complete a project summary at the beginning and the end of the project. Please use the project summary form below. Send the summaries to administratiepvw@rvo.nl within 6 weeks of the start and end of the project.
- The grant decision states specific reporting obligations and deadlines. The main applicant is responsible for the timely fulfilment of these obligations.