Innovational Research Incentives Scheme Vici - Social Sciences and Humanities
Vici is part of the NWO Talent programme. The Vici target group consists of researchers at the stage of consolidation and further development of their leadership/research group.
Purpose
The Vici target group consists of researchers at the stage of consolidation and further development of their leadership/research group. The goal of the Vici grant is to contribute to the researcher's development in this area.
Who can apply
Vici is aimed at senior researchers with academic qualities that clearly exceed what is customary within the international peer group, as well as established leadership- and mentorship skills.
Researchers may only submit an application if they have obtained their PhD in the fifteen years preceding the benchmark date of this round, 1 March 2026. An extension to the above career-dependent submission period may be possible under specific circumstances (see Section 3.4.2 of the Call for proposals).
What can be applied for
The maximum grant is 1.5 million euros.
When to apply
- The deadline for pre-proposals is March 10, 2026, 14:00:00 hours CET.
- The deadline for proposals is September 8, 2026, 14:00:00 hours CEST.
Assessment
Criteria
The assessment criterion for the pre-proposals is:
- Quality of the researcher
The assessment criteria for the full proposals are:
- Quality and innovative character of the research proposal (75%)
- Scientific and/or social impact (25%)
Procedure
- submission of the preproposal;
- admissibility check of the preproposal;
- assessment of the preproposal;
- provisional advice assessment committee;
- possibility of filing a request for the correction of a factual error;
- decision-making preproposal;
- submission of the full proposal (only possible if you have received a positive decision on the preproposal);
- admissibility check of the full proposal;
- assessment of the full proposal;
- decision-making.
The Vici competition will be assessed by four committees: four committees corresponding to the NWO domains: Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), NWO-Science domain (Science), Applied and Engineering Sciences (AES), Health Research and Development (ZonMw). You are currently on the webpage for ZonMw.
Vici applications are assessed in a domain-wide procedure: all applications from different disciplines within one domain will be assessed together. ZonMw uses a broad-based assessment committee of academics to advise on the merits and prioritisation of the applications.
Applicants must first submit a pre-proposal. These are assessed by the assessment committee, which then makes a recommendation on whether or not to submit a proposal. Proposals are sent to external referees. Applicants are given the opportunity to respond to the referees’ reports (‘rebuttal’). Next, the proposals, the reviews and the rebuttals are assessed by the respective assessment committees. Based on the proposal, the referees’ reports and the rebuttal the assessment committee advises the accredited board of NWO.
All proposals must be submitted via ISAAC, NWO's electronic application system. The only exceptions to this rule are proposals to the Health Research and Development domain. These proposals can only be submitted via Mijn ZonMw.
More information
Optional literature list
As of 2023, the Vici uses an optional literature list of relevant scientific literature closely related to your research idea. NWO will use the literature list - along with your research idea, key words and specified discipline(s) - to search for potential external reviewers for your full proposal. Your literature list will not be submitted to the committee.
Frequently asked questions
On this page you will find an overview of the most frequently asked questions about the NWO Talent Programme, including questions about the set time limit to submit a proposal (and any exceptions to it):
