As the most important science funding body in the Netherlands, NWO ensures quality and innovation in science and invests nearly €1.5 billion annually in curiosity-driven research, research focused on societal challenges, and research infrastructure. NWO funds approximately 7,500 research projects at universities and other knowledge institutions, besides managing ten research institutes under the NWO umbrella.
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Scientific research with scientific and societal impact
NWO promotes world-class scientific research with scientific and societal impact. As such NWO feels a responsibility to contribute to reducing, refining and, where possible, replacing laboratory animals in a responsible manner, while recognising that research involving animals will still remain necessary to a certain extent and in certain scientific fields.
Lab animal-wise policy
In its role as a science funder, NWO wants to make a greater contribution to the transition to animal-free research in the future through a lab animal-wise policy, in which maintaining the high quality and reliability of scientific research and finding ways to replace or reduce the use of laboratory animals must go hand in hand, in collaboration with the research field and the different partners within TPI.
Several initiatives to stimulate animal-free research
NWO funds research that focuses on alternative research models and their acceptance. NWO also wants to raise awareness among researchers and promote openness and transparency when there is no alternative, in order to prevent unnecessary duplication of research and to promote the reuse of data.
- Two examples of research programmes are: Animal-free assessment models and Human Measurement Models 2.0
- NWO encourages animal-free research and encourages the field to take a critical look at the necessity and implementation of animal testing
- If there are no alternatives, NWO strives for transparency, for example by steering towards the use of ARRIVE guidelines and pre-registration (PreclinicalTrials.eu)
- When laboratory animals are used, the Central Authority for Scientific Procedures on Animals, an animal ethics committee, and local animal welfare authorities grant a license and NWO asks researchers if this license is obtained
- There is a joint working group with ZonMw: lab animal-wise policy
- NWO took part in the Research Involving Non-Human Primates sounding board group (Bijker committee) and the sounding board of the Research into stimulating animal-free innovation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature