The people behind your application
RenskeBlaas
Medior Consultant
Funding for life sciences and health
In life sciences, many years often lie between the first idea and market introduction. During that period costs accrue for preclinical work, trials, approval and quality assurance with no revenue against them. Financing those phases purely through equity or investor rounds often dilutes more than necessary. Public funding in this sector is therefore rarely a bonus, but a fixed part of the financing strategy. This page covers which projects typically qualify and how funding can be planned across the development phases.
The developments shaping your roadmap
Four developments drive projects in this sector, similar across Europe.
Regulation has become development work. Clinical evaluation, validation and documentation shape product design and development decisions from the outset.
Long cycles with heavy capital needs. Years pass between research, testing and market introduction without reliable revenue.
Digitalisation of care. Software as a medical device, telemedicine and data-driven diagnostics raise new regulatory questions.
Personalised medicine and biotechnology. Cell and gene therapy and companion diagnostics shift production towards more specific processes.
Energy efficiency & decarbonisation
From equipment replacement to process heat: programmes for lower energy use and CO₂ are currently especially well funded.
Automation & robotics
Investment in robotics, sensor technology and connected equipment that secures productivity without replacing people.
Digitalisation & Industry 4.0
From the digital twin to connected manufacturing: funding for modernising production IT.
The programmes behind it
What to watch in this sector
In life sciences and health, applications rarely fail because the subject is not relevant. Risk arises mainly from how the development phase is classified, from regulation and from the structure of the partners.
01
Development or legal obligation?
Clinical evaluation, validation, quality management or documentation do not qualify automatically. What decides it is whether they are part of a genuine development risk, or whether they primarily fulfil a legal obligation for a product that is already defined. Only in the first case does the work count as research and development within the meaning of the WBSO.
02
Structuring collaborations cleanly
Many projects need hospitals, knowledge institutions, laboratories or CROs. These partners have to be technically necessary, contractually properly embedded and correctly allocated in the costs. Unclear roles or poorly delimited contracts quickly lead to queries or reductions.
03
Choosing the right development phase
A project can be too early for one scheme and too late for another. Between preclinical work, clinical validation, approval and market introduction in particular, the exact phase decides which instrument fits and what evidence is expected.
The pressures shaping your roadmap
How we work
We do not start with the application but with the question of which phase your projects sit in and which parts qualify. Our specialists know the Dutch schemes and the evaluation practice in this sector.
STEP 1
Review the roadmap.
We go through your plans and separate what qualifies from what does not.
STEP 2
Match the schemes.
We map the qualifying work to instruments at regional, national and European level.
STEP 3
Build the applications.
We write against the actual evaluation criteria rather than the project description.
STEP 4
Protect what is awarded.
We keep documentation audit-ready throughout the funded period.
The people behind your application
RikAdelaar
Medior Consultant
The people behind your application
RoderighRohling
Senior Consultant
The people behind your application
RoelSchuurkes
Senior Consultant
The people behind your application
RubenLouw
Senior Consultant
Numbers you can hold us to
Resources & Insights
TSD Tooling & Precision
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Schuurman Schoenen
A family business with 650 employees, 49 stores and the conviction that the person behind the product is what counts. Together with Ignite Group, Schuurman Schoenen translated that vision into its own academy, more…
I only need to supply the necessary documents and Ignite Group takes care of the rest. It gives us the freedom to focus on developing our technology and selling our products.
Without the knowledge of ‘grant-speak’ and the speed of action, we would never have pulled this off.
Ignite Group critically reviewed our draft budget and clarified which costs were eligible. We followed that advice and secured a generous grant. It shows that, even after years of partnership, Ignite Group keeps adding value.
By goal rather than by industry
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- Build Strategic Resilience Become less dependent on individual funding sources and absorb volatility with confidence. With non-dilutive capital that strengthens your balance sheet and secures your strategy.
- Accelerate R&D and Innovation Develop faster without carrying the budget alone. We connect innovation funding to your roadmap, so your teams keep building instead of managing applications.
- Optimise Your Funding Mix Build funding into your financing as a plannable component, not an occasional windfall. A funding mix your CFO can count on.
- Stay Audit-Ready and Compliant Keep the capital you have been awarded. Typically, 30–40 percent of funding value is lost after the award. We secure documentation and audit trail from day one.
Ready to secure your funding?
Find out what your business has been entitled to all along.