National funding

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This page orders the main national schemes along that purpose and shows which instrument fits which kind of project.

Three levels, three logics

Central government supports companies through several ministries and delivery agencies. Every scheme has its own conditions, its own submission moments and its own method of assessment. That is hard to survey, because the schemes are not organised by sector but by purpose: development, investment, sustainability or training.

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The national schemes by purpose

For work carrying technical uncertainty the WBSO is the base instrument. It reduces the payroll tax remitted for staff working on research and development. Because the benefit runs through payroll tax rather than profit tax, companies without profit also benefit. You set the pace of offsetting yourself: in one go, or spread across the year.

Alongside it, three further national schemes apply at different points in the innovation journey.

Innovatiebox. A tax scheme lowering the effective rate on profit from innovative activity. It applies to the result rather than the cost, and complements the WBSO.

Innovatiekrediet. Financing for high-risk development projects whose outcome is still uncertain. Unlike a grant, this is credit.

DHI. Support for demonstration projects, feasibility studies and investment preparation in international activity.

For investment in energy-efficient or environmentally friendly business assets, the EIA and MIA/Vamil are the main routes. Both work through tax deduction and are tied to defined categories of assets.

Where the work concerns making processes more sustainable rather than acquiring assets, other schemes apply. DEI+ targets demonstration of energy innovation, VEKI targets investment in proven energy-saving technology, and the Topsector Energie carries schemes for research, development and demonstration in the energy transition.

The SLIM scheme supports learning and development in SMEs, for example company academies, training plans and development reviews. There are two variants: SLIM Individueel for a single company and SLIM Samenwerkingsverband for several parties together.

Alongside it, the Praktijkleren scheme contributes to employers’ costs of supervising apprentices, students and doctoral researchers in the workplace.

What to watch with national schemes

Starting the preparation too late

Writing an application and gathering all the supporting documents regularly takes three to six months. Companies that start only as the submission date approaches end up under pressure or submit a weaker application.

Not accounting for how the scheme is assessed

Pay close attention to how a scheme is assessed. Under first come, first served, the budget can be gone before you submit. Under a tender, the ranking decides rather than the moment of submission. The two require different planning.

Missing the points threshold

In schemes with a scoring system, meeting the conditions is not enough. An application that misses the threshold falls away even where it is substantively sound. We therefore build applications along the scoring criteria rather than along the project description.