On the one hand, education minister Eppo Bruins is cutting hundreds of millions from the science budget, but on the other he wants to set up an NWO fund to attract top researchers from other countries, focusing on those who want to come to the Netherlands to escape “increasing tensions”.
In practice, the programme will focus on researchers from the US, where academics are facing censorship, legal violence and sudden budget cuts under the Trump administration. Researchers in gender studies, climate change and other fields deemed ‘progressive’ by the MAGA right are bearing the brunt of this hostility.
The size of the new fund has yet to be determined. “We are looking to the education ministry for a contribution”, NWO chair Marcel Levi says in a telephone interview. “So now – to use an irreverent metaphor – they’re rummaging through drawers over there, trying to scrape together bits of unused funding. And we’re doing the same here at NWO, looking for leftovers, rounding residuals and unspent funds. But we’re also reaching out to science funds and industry partners.”
How big do you think this fund will be?
“It’s too early to say, but if you want to attract a top researcher, you’re looking at half a million or a million euros. So let’s say we need 20 million euros to bring 20 people here, and 40 million euros to attract 40. It’s not inconceivable – France and Germany are also setting aside money for this.”
How will NWO distribute the money?
“That’s something we still need to work out, but we want to collaborate with universities and research institutes. So there won’t be grants awarded to individual researchers. The idea is to support institutions looking to attract top researchers at the forefront of their field by giving them a financial boost. But those researchers would still have to be hired by those institutions themselves – that’s not something we’re involved in.”
Given the recent budget cuts, the plan has drawn some cynical responses.
“I agree that these budget cuts at universities are terrible, and NWO is firmly against them. But it’s also our job to promote science in the Netherlands as best we can, and there’s an opportunity here. For years, scientists would leave for the US, and now there’s a reverse brain drain.”
Will the focus be mainly on Dutch researchers working in the US?
“The primary focus will be on Europeans, but Dutch researchers will find it easier to come here than others – they know what it’s like here, and they usually have contacts.”
Are these researchers from the US that much better than those losing their jobs here as a result of the cuts?
“No idea, I don’t know who’s losing their jobs here. But that is something universities are struggling with: they have to cut tens of millions of euros, good researchers are getting fewer opportunities here… and then we’re going to get top scientists from other countries to come and work here. How do you balance that?”
Is there much interest in coming here?
“We’ll need to take some time to assess that. But if you look at other countries, there seems to be quite a lot of interest.”
Will you only look for researchers in specific fields or is everyone equally welcome?
“Our intention is to only look for excellence. So they have to be leading researchers, but I really don’t care what their area of expertise is.”