The fund for economic structure reinforcements is financed by natural gas profits and intended for investments in the knowledge economy. In order to be eligible for these subsidies, research proposals must be presented in cooperation with all entities and the topic must follow one of the eight themes of the fund. These themes are high-tech systems and materials, food and flowers, life sciences and health, water, climate and space, IT, chemistry and energy, creative industry and education.
Together with colleagues at the University of Amsterdam and TU Delft, the scientific director of the CTIT, Peter Apers, is the driver of the IT project which was set up in cooperation with ICTRegie. More than one hundred companies and non-profit organizations are involved in this project. `Our main goal is to set up an IT ecosystem which forms a large joint venture of researchers and businesses in the field of IT. We're looking at several areas of application: safety and security, mobility and logistics, care and lifestyle,' he explains. The program is a four-year research project for which a subsidy of 150 million euros has been requested. `Given the importance of IT in society, we are confident that we can establish the IT ecosystem with the help of the government.'
The MESA + research institute has also applied for a FES subsidy. `We have just filed a proposal which will lead to an enduring leadership position for the Netherlands in the field of high-tech systems and materials. For this purpose, a specific choice has been made to target programs which belong to the scientific, economic and social challenges of the 21st century,' says Dave Blank, the scientific director of MESA +. The initiative will involve universities, technology institutes, teaching hospitals and companies. `The proposed budget for the FES application is for 434 million euros of which we hope to receive 215 million euros in support from the government. We think the chance of succeeding to obtain the subsidy is one hundred percent.'
The UT's Biomedical Technological Institute is part of a consortium of technical universities, teaching hospitals and companies that have written a research proposal in the field of Life Sciences and Health including the influence of regenerative medicine. For this particular project, one hundred and fifty thousand euros was requested. Scientific director Clemens van Blitterswijk thinks there is a `reasonable chance' for the subsidy to be granted, but he points out that there are many applicants. `Generally, the applications for subsidies equal two and half times the funds available in the budget. The question remains, what will the government do in these insecure times? It could introduce budget cuts or increase funding above the 500 million euros to stimulate the knowledge economy. It's an unlikely chance that the government will try to cut corners.'
