The Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research) (NWO) is a scientific research organization in the Netherlands. NWO's mission is: "The NWO has the task of promoting the quality and innovation of scientific research, as well as initiating and fostering new developments in scientific research."
NWO is an independent administrative body under the auspices of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The organization receives about 400 million euros per year, of which approximately 300 million comes directly from the ministry. NWO directs the 300 million budget toward Dutch universities and institutes, often on a project basis. Also, the NWO has its own institutes.
NWO was established in 1950 as Nederlandse Organisatie voor Zuiver-Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (ZWO). This organization did not focus on applied research; the research organization TNO was established for that purpose. In 1988 ZWO was renamed as NWO and was given the broader mission.
NWO is also known for the annual Spinoza Prizes, and the National Science.
The headquarters of the NWO is in Den Haag.
Jos Engelen, the former scientific director of CERN, is the president of NWO. Former NWO presidents include Leo Coolen. (General Director of NWO until his death in 2005), Cees de Visser and Peter Nijkamp.
NWO is active in the following disciplines:
NWO has nine private and shared institutions. The Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter is a subsidiary of NWO and manages three of the institutes:
The institutes directly operated by NWO include:
(Den Haag)