In order to increase the quality and the success rate of KWF proposals, there is a comprehensive assessment procedure for these projects. Projects that are not reviewed according to this procedure are not eligible for submission to the Dutch Cancer Society.

Outline of the internal KWF assessment procedure

  • Submission of a preproposal about 3 months before the KWF deadline. You preproposal will be reviewed by a committee member and one of your suggested reviewers. Based on the review they will advise you either to continue writing the full proposal (with likely suggestions for improvement) or, to withdraw your project from the current round of funding.
  • Internal submission of your complete project proposal is due about 1 month before the submission deadline of KWF. You will receive a new review report of the same reviewers that evaluated your preproposal. Based on comments of the reviewers and your reply to these comments the committee will give a positive of negative advice for submission to KWF.
  • For some thematic calls or long-term programmes, alternative procedures are in place.

KWF Grant types

KWF Kankerbestrijding - Research and Implementation programme offers different types of funding, depending on the specific research phase. The following types of funding are available:

Research Project
A research project is a research proposal with a defined scope in terms of goal, expected results, duration, costs and research group(s)). There is no limit to the requested budget and time. However, the requested budget should be supported by financial projections. If the project involves collaboration between multiple organisations, the added value of each of the separate organisations has to be substantiated

Young Investigator Grant
The funding type Young Investigator Grant (YIG) is for researchers who are in an early stage of their scientific career. It is aimed at offering talented young researchers the opportunity to initiate an independent oncological research line. The young researcher must be capable of leading the project and executing the project independently.

Unique High Risk Project
The funding type Unique High Risk project (UHR) provides the possibility to perform short-term preparatory work to determine whether a not yet fully crystallized idea offers viable opportunities. This type of funding is to validate innovative ideas, to realize preliminary work and is meant for non-existing lines of research on a mostly theoretical basis, but with high potential for breakthroughs in science. Therefore, the project leader is an experienced scientist in the specific area to ensure pilot experiments will be undertaken efficiently.

Consortium Project

A project performed by four or more organizations (this does not include service providers, inclusion centers and co-funders) is always considered to be a Consortium project. Because of the complexity of a Consortium project, a project manager must be appointed to coordinate the project. In general, the duration of a Consortium project may last up to six years.

    For more information on KWF grants, visit the KWF website.

    Upcoming deadlines

    KWF Call 2025-2 Exploration - KWF deadline November 19, 2024
    the internal review procedure* for this call is currently ongoing. You can no longer submit (pre-)proposals in this round.

    *If your pre-proposal was already positively evaluated in a previous round, it does not need to be evaluated again. However, it is still obligatory to submit a full proposal. Also, re-submissions (full proposals) of KWF projects must be reviewed by the KWF committee.
    So please notify us if you have an approved KWF pre-proposal.

    KWF Call 2025-1 Development & Implementation - KWF deadline November 26, 2024
    the internal review procedure* for this call is currently ongoing. You can no longer submit (pre-)proposals in this round.

    *If your pre-proposal was already positively evaluated in a previous round, it does not need to be evaluated again. However, it is still obligatory to submit a full proposal. Also, re-submissions (full proposals) of KWF projects must be reviewed by the KWF committee.
    So please notify us if you have an approved KWF pre-proposal.

    KWF Long-Term Programme Biomarkers - deadline checklist October 22
    This call is intended for projects in which a clinical grade biomarker will be demonstrated in an operational environment (TRL 7). Eligibility for the long-term programme will be determined using a checklist. The checklist must be completed and submitted via email to biomarkers@kwf.nl prior to submitting the pre-proposal. Without the checklist, the pre-proposal will not be considered. For this call, an adapted internal review procedure is in place. Contact cca@amsterdamumc.nl if you are applying for this call.
    More information: KWF website

    KWF Resources

    Financial checklist for KWF applicants
    This checklist has been prepared in consultation with Amsterdam UMC project controllers and aims to support applicants in drafting the budget for their application.
    Download the KWF financial checklist.

    Data management section
    For the data management section of the proposal, it is sufficient to include a short summary of the most important points regarding data types, storage and accessibility. State that an elaborated data management plan (DMP) will be designed according to an institutional DMP template which is in line with the FAIR principles, will adresses all points from the KWF guidelines.
    Download a short template text for the data management section. This text can be adjusted according to your project requirements.

          KWF review committees

          There are two reviewing committees, a pre-clinical and a clinical committee. The committees consist of the following members:

          KWF pre-clinical research committee:                                   
          Dr. M.F. (Maarten) Bijlsma, voorzitter
          Prof. dr. V.W. (Victor) van Beusechem
          Prof. dr. R.H. (Ruud) Brakenhoff
          Prof. dr. J. (Jacqueline) Cloos
          Dr. S. (Sarah) Derks
          Prof. dr. E.F. (Eric) Eldering
          Dr. J.M.M. (Joke) den Haan
          Prof. dr. A.P. (Arnon) Kater
          Dr. R. (Rienk) Nieuwland
          Dr. M. (Marcel) Spaargaren
          Dr. M. (Maria) Themeli
          Dr. R. (Rieneke) van de Ven
          Dr. R.M.F. (Rob) Wolthuis
          Dr. W.C.E. (Wietske) Pieters, secretaris
          Mw. M.A.J. (Marieke) Koelink, secretaris

          KWF clinical research committee
          Prof. dr. L.J.A. (Lukas) Stalpers, voorzitter
          Prof. dr. J.J.G.H.M. (Jacques) Bergman
          Prof. dr. M.G.H. (Marc) Besselink
          Dr. A.M.J. (Annemarie) Braamse
          Dr. T.E. (Tineke) Buffart
          Dr. V.M.H. (Veerle) Coupé
          Prof. dr. N.C.T. (Nicole) van Grieken
          Dr. C.J.A. (Niels) Haasbeek
          Prof. dr. M. (Martin) Klein
          Prof. dr. A.J. (Aart) Nederveen
          Dr. M.G.H. (Martijn) van Oijen
          Dr. C.E. (Caroline) Rutten
          Dr. R. (Rutger-Jan) Swijnenburg
          Prof. dr. J.W. (Hanneke) Wilmink
          Prof. dr. E.L. (Noortje) Swart
          Prof. dr. J. (Josée) Zijlstra
          Dr. W.C.E. (Wietske) Pieters, secretaris
          Mw. M.A.J. (Marieke) Koelink, secretaris