SDG Interactions and Policy Interventions in Developing Countries (NWA-SDG research programme

The Dutch National Research Agenda (NWA) describes broad, societal challenges which require a national approach whereby the Dutch (and global) knowledge economy as well as society at large can benefit from research performed in The Netherlands. The NWA was created by an innovative process with input from citizens and scientists: every Dutch resident was given the opportunity to submit questions online. The national knowledge community, under the guidance of the Knowledge Coalition, compiled the resulting questions into 140 scientific challenges, which have been translated into 25 pathways, i.e. routes. The NWA programme above all aims to build bridges: between various scientific fields, between various forms of research (fundamental, applied, practice-oriented) and between diverse national and international knowledge agendas. Interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity, an approach spanning the entire knowledge chain and cooperation with societal partners including Ministries, corporations, start-ups and NGOs are therefore crucial features of the consortia involved in NWA projects and programmes. The overarching ambition of the NWA programme is to make a positive, structural contribution to the global knowledge society of tomorrow, in which new knowledge flows easily from researcher to user and new questions arising from practice and society lead quickly and naturally to new research. This can only be achieved by building bridges today in order to address the scientific and societal challenges together, both locally and globally. The call for proposals on the theme ‘Sustainable Development Goals Interactions and Policy Interventions in Developing Countries’ is part of programme line 2 of the NWA programme. In this programme line, NWO is working with relevant ministries. The initiator of this call is the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA); the programme is managed by NWO-WOTRO Science for Global Development. This call for proposals aligns with: − The NWA pathway Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for inclusive global development1, a research agenda established in 2016 to promote integrated and comprehensive analyses and understanding of SDG interactions, both synergies and trade-offs. − The Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in particular its policy on Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation (BHOS, 2018)2, which is guided by the SDG agenda. The policy promotes four closely connected objectives: preventing conflict and instability; reducing poverty and social inequality; promoting sustainable and inclusive growth and climate action worldwide; enhancing the Netherlands’ international earning capacity. Applicants are advised to consult the full NWA pathway and the BHOS policy texts to obtain a better understanding of the background of this call for proposals. A focus on knowledge transfer, knowledge utilisation and application of results throughout the duration of the projects is of vital importance for this call. This contributes to the societal embedding of the call and creates support for the results to be used for policy and implementation. The decision-making body for this NWA call is the NWO executive board. This also means that the NWO Grant Rules 2017 apply to this call.