Umbrella organisations call for National Growth Fund to remain open

This fund concerns public funds to support public-private R&D and innovation projects. This fund is crucial to maintain Dutch investment in innovation and not to fall behind surrounding countries in terms of innovation capacity. Read the letter here (Dutch). 

The National Growth Fund was established by the Cabinet in 2020 to strengthen the sustainable earning capacity of the Dutch economy. In recent years, substantial investments have been made, both by the government and the business community, in projects such as, for example, the Digitalisation Impulse NL (digitalisation in secondary vocational and higher education) and National Education Lab AI. Projects outside digital technology also receive many millions in contributions from the government for knowledge development, research, development and innovation.

Several important initiatives are also participating in the current fourth round, for example the Human Capital Agenda ICT with activities to have 1 million ICT workers in the Netherlands by 2030 (400,000 new ICT workers needed) and an initiative to scale up the Open Source ecosystem into a reliable alternative or supplement to current software suppliers. Both these initiatives involve CIO Platform Nederland.

The absence of a new cabinet, the postponement of decision-making on the fourth round and the consequent increasing risk that postponement will also lead to cancellation, has caused unrest. The parties signing the open letter call for quick clarity on the continuation of this fourth round, so we can continue investing in strengthening the earning capacity of the Netherlands.