Public private partnerships

3rd Call Enabling Technology Hotels

Due to the success of the 1st and 2nd calls of the Enabling Technologies Hotels programme, ZonMw and NWO Earth and Life Sciences (ALW) have made funds available for a 3rd call for proposals. 

Until 13 October 2015, researchers can submit a grant application on behalf of a PPP consortium to the 3rd call of the Enabling Technologies Hotels programme. The Technology Hotel concept enables researchers (the guests) who do not have access to high-end technologies to gain access to these via a service-oriented facility (the Hotel). The call is being realised in close collaboration with the Dutch Techcentre for Life Sciences (DTL). The Technology Hotels are listed on the DTL website. These DTL-associated Technology Hotels give external researchers access to state-of-the-art infrastructure and related expertise.


The goal of the Enabling Technologies Hotels programme is to encourage collaboration between researchers and technologists within the framework of a PPP. The programme contributes to the aim of the Top Sectors Life Sciences and Health (LSH), Agri & Food, and Horticulture & Starting Materials, to stimulate new cooperations where science, industry, government and society integrate resources, funding and knowledge. 

There are two different types of projects that can apply for Hotel access: 

  1. Type A Hotel project: for ongoing PPPs: allows expansion of activities already planned (the Associated Projects) with new technology.
  2. Type B Hotel project: for new PPPs (Booster projects): allows access to new technology to test a hypothesis and generate data with the intention (and perspective) of follow-up with larger national or international project applications.

The Hotel access should be used to generate and integrate novel data for the groups concerned. Within the framework of this call, there is a preference for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) taking part in the PPPs. A budget of €780k is available for this 3rd round and the maximum budget that can be requested per Hotel project has been set at €30k.


For more information visit ZonMw. 

A building Public-Private-Partnerschip.

Thursday the 3rd of September the Top Sector LSH visited the Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam (NCA). The NCA is a successful and prominent example of building public-private-partnership and translational research from out of an UMC, with a strong and focused business development. Prof. dr. Arjen Brussaard, CSO of the NCA, explains the strategy of NCA as follows:

"The Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam is a network of more than 550 collaborating neuroscientists from VU University and VU University Medical Center. In recent years we have established an Industry Alliance Office that focuses on finding collaborative links with biotech and pharma industry. As Chief Scientific Officer, I come into action when a potential partner has a question related to our scientific scope. If matters progress to the stage of negotiation, patents and contracts, we benefit from the business experience of embedded business developers that we recruited and that work around the clock, dedicated to our institute only. Valorisation is not only important to a healthy business model, it also inspires researchers to work together with partners from industry."