KWF Dutch Cancer Society and Oncode Institute are taking an important next step in their collaboration. Together, both organisations are working towards a future-proof model to further strengthen fundamental cancer research and innovation in the Netherlands.
With this development, KWF and Oncode Institute are building on the model established by Oncode Institute over the past years: a model in which excellent fundamental science, collaboration and valorisation reinforce one another. The aim is to create greater room for scientific breakthroughs that can ultimately contribute to the prevention of cancer and better diagnostics, treatment, and quality of life for people affected by cancer. Both organisations are working towards a future-proof model that will start in 2028 and further strengthen fundamental cancer research and innovation in the Netherlands.
Investing in continuity, freedom, quality and collaboration
Fundamental cancer research is the basis of tomorrow’s breakthroughs. At the same time, this type of research is difficult to plan in detail in advance. New insights often emerge from curiosity-driven research, the use of new technologies, unexpected results and sustained investment in research lines that may only lead to breakthroughs in the longer term.
The Oncode Institute model, made possible in part by support from KWF, has demonstrably delivered considerable added value over the past nine years. In doing so, the model has shown that long-term free research funding, collaboration, and valorisation reinforce one another. It is therefore a logical next step to build on this proven model from 2028 onwards.
KWF and Oncode Institute are working towards a model in which excellent fundamental research groups can receive five-year funding. This form of research group funding offers researchers more freedom, flexibility, and trust. As a result, it creates more room to build research lines, respond more quickly to new scientific insights, and further develop promising discoveries.
KWF will make more funding available for fundamental research each year than in previous years. Depending on fundraising, this will involve a total annual investment in the order of €30 million. KWF and Oncode Institute will also intensify their collaboration and jointly ensure implementation of the new model. With this new approach, KWF and Oncode Institute will be able to offer multi-year funding to a considerably larger number of research groups, combined with support in the areas of collaboration and valorisation.
An open and accessible model
KWF and Oncode Institute are deliberately choosing an accessible model for excellent research groups within the fundamental oncology research field. Scientific quality will remain in the lead, with attention to diversity in research lines, areas of expertise, researcher career stage and scientific profiles. In this way, the generation of new knowledge will remain central, ultimately helping us to better understand cancer.
At the same time, the selection of research groups will align with the broader strength of the model. In addition to the quality of each research line, consideration will also be given to its possible contribution to collaboration and community building, and to the potential to identify promising insights at an early stage, and where appropriate its ability to further develop these towards valorisation and societal impact.
In concrete terms, KWF and Oncode Institute are working towards a model with regular open calls for the selection of research groups. The model will be dynamic and designed to stimulate renewal. After five years of funding, researchers will be able to submit a new application for research group funding, which will be assessed alongside new candidates applications.
Selection will take place on the basis of evaluation and will focus on expertise, experience, and vision. It will be carried out within transparent frameworks on the basis of independent assessment, focusing on scientific quality, expertise, experience, and vision, as well as the extent to which a research group can contribute to the broader objectives of the model: collaboration within an open community, knowledge sharing, and identifying and further developing promising fundamental insights. The transparency of the process will create an open community that strengthens the entire fundamental oncology research field.
Final KWF Exploration Call in 2027
To make this model possible, the way in which KWF funds fundamental research will change. KWF will move from project funding to research group funding for fundamental research. The new model will replace the current base funding of Oncode Institute.
As part of the transition, KWF will organise the final regular open call for project funding for fundamental research: the KWF Exploratie call 2027-I, in 2027. The first allocation of funding to research groups by KWF under the new model is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2028. For non-fundamental research, other KWF funding routes will remain available, including open calls and thematic calls.
The three pillars of the model
The strength of the model lies in the combination of three connected pillars:
- excellent, free and high-risk fundamental cancer research;
- collaboration and community building;
- valorisation and societal impact.
Over the past years, this combination within Oncode Institute has shown that fundamental science becomes stronger when researchers are given more freedom and collaboration across disciplines is encouraged. In addition, it can contribute to innovative solutions when promising insights are identified early and further developed.
Valorisation is important in order to further develop promising results. The model inspires researchers and, where opportunities arise, provides support to further develop discoveries towards clinical validation, application, collaboration with partners and societal impact. Researchers retain their own scientific profile and focus. Generating knowledge and new insights without thematic steering remains central.
Further development
Although the KWF and Oncode Institute joint ambition has been set out, both organisations recognise that this development may raise questions. Further design of the model will be developed in the coming period. This includes, among other things, the structure of the open call, the conditions, and what it means to be part of the new model.
This step underlines the importance of structural investment in fundamental science, collaboration, infrastructure, valorisation and innovation. To maintain the Netherlands’ strong scientific base and remain internationally connected, structural investment is needed. KWF and Oncode Institute are therefore making an explicit appeal to the Dutch government, public funds and societal partners to co-invest in a future-proof model for fundamental cancer research in the Netherlands. A model driven by excellent science, strengthened by collaboration and aimed at sustainable impact for people affected by cancer.
Questions and Answers
Further details can be found in the questions and answers below.
1. Who is eligible for funding?
The funding is intended for researchers affiliated with a Dutch knowledge institution who lead a team of researchers and conduct their own independent research line within fundamental cancer research.
The model will take into account researchers at different career stages, emerging themes, and newcomers to the field, so that every researcher who meets the quality requirements has a fair opportunity to receive funding. Current Oncode Investigators will also compete in these open calls and will be assessed under the same evaluation conditions as non-Oncode researchers.
In addition to scientific excellence, consideration will also be given to alignment with the broader model, including the willingness and ability to contribute to collaboration, knowledge sharing, community building, and the timely identification of valorisation opportunities. Current Oncode Investigators will also need to qualify competitively through the open calls.
2. What level of funding can be applied for?
The budget that a research group will receive has not yet been determined. However this funding will be substantially higher than an average project grant and will therefore make an important contribution to strengthening and ensuring the continuity of a research line.
3. What can the funding be used for?
Research group funding is intended to offer excellent fundamental research groups more scientific freedom, flexibility, and agility. The funding can be used directly for activities that contribute to increasing fundamental knowledge about cancer, without the need to describe and assess a project application in advance.
For example, the funding can be used to explore new research ideas, investigate unexpected findings, deploy new technologies or attract talented research staff. When promising insights arise from this fundamental, curiosity-driven research, it is important that they are identified as early as possible and, where appropriate, can be further developed.
4. Is this simply an expansion of Oncode Institute?
No. The current Oncode model forms the basis of the new model, but KWF and Oncode Institute will intensify their collaboration and jointly implement the new model. This means that the number of research groups within the model will be increased.
5. What will the transition period look like for Oncode Investigators?
Current Oncode Investigators will not automatically become part of the new model. Like other researchers, they may be eligible for selection within the new research group funding. The transition to this model will be carefully designed over several years, so that the continuity of the existing Oncode community, the collaboration between research groups and the knowledge and infrastructure that have been built up are safeguarded as much as possible.
The guiding principle is therefore that Oncode Investigators will be phased out over multiple years. Oncode Investigators will be informed about this in good time.
6. What will the transition period look like for KWF projects?
KWF and Oncode Institute will establish a transition phase. In concrete terms, this means that project funding already awarded by KWF, as well as funding that will still be awarded in future open calls, will not change. These projects will be completed under the current funding conditions.