ZonMw

What ZonMw does

ZonMw (legal name: ZorgOnderzoek Nederland) is an independent Dutch self-governing organization (zbo) established by law in 1998, operating as a partnership between ZorgOnderzoek Nederland (ZON) and the Medical Sciences domain of the Dutch Research Council (NWO) since 2001. Headquartered at Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië 334 in The Hague, the organization programmes and funds research and innovation in health, healthcare, and well-being on behalf of the Dutch government, primarily the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) and NWO, with additional co-commissioning from other ministries and the European Commission via Horizon Europe.

Its core offering consists of a portfolio of nearly 200 research programmes and approximately 200 grant calls issued per year, ranging from talent development instruments (Veni, Vidi, Vici, Rubicon) to the Open Competition, Clinical Fellows, NAM Collaboration Grants, and domain-specific calls on topics from COVID-19 to dementia to appropriate care. Distribution is centralized through the Mijn ZonMw digital portal, where applicants submit proposals, committees and referees conduct peer review, and project leads manage reporting. Supporting services include the ZonMw Project Database, the ZonMw Connect outreach programme, the ZonMw Parel recognition award, and an Open Science framework spanning FAIR data, Open Access, citizen science, diversity and inclusion, and animal-free research.

ZonMw's business model is that of a government-commissioned intermediary: it receives programme budgets from public funders and distributes them competitively as grants to academic researchers, healthcare professionals, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and citizen-science participants. It does not sell products or services commercially; its "revenue" is the annual commissioning volume entrusted to it by government contractors. The organization has 251-500 employees and serves the Dutch knowledge chain from fundamental research through implementation, with international reach via Horizon Europe partnerships such as the European Partnership One Health AMR.

Name

ZonMw

Legal name

ZorgOnderzoek Nederland

Website

https://zonmw.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

ZonMw is the Dutch Organisation for Health Research and Development, an independent government-funded body that programmes and finances nearly 200 health research and innovation programmes annually for researchers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers in the Netherlands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Research Funding

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (MNCH) Programs (BPADAIAC)

Keywords

• Health research funding
• Research programme management
• Grant application platform
• Healthcare innovation funding
• Knowledge utilization services

Headquarters

HQ city

The Hague

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding Distribution: ZonMw is funded by government contractors to programme and fund research and innovation in health, healthcare and well-being. The organization distributes grants to researchers, healthcare professionals, and organizations through competitive application processes.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ZonMw is the Dutch Organisation for Health Research and Development. It programs and funds research and innovation in health, healthcare and well-being, and stimulates the use of the knowledge developed. The organization operates approximately 200 programmes, manages grant calls and subsidies, and supports researchers and partners through a dedicated portal (My ZonMw), a project database, training via ZonMw Academy, networking through ZonMw Connect, and recognition via the ZonMw Parel award.

Product overview

ZonMw is the Dutch Organisation for Health Research and Development, which programmes and funds research and innovation in health, healthcare and well-being. It is not a traditional product company but rather a funding organization that operates through its core services: the My ZonMw digital portal for grant management, a database of grant calls and subsidies (nearly 200 programs), various research programmes (48 programmes), a project database, outreach services (ZonMw Connect), and recognition awards (ZonMw Parel). Together these connect researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to advance knowledge development and utilization in health.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Subsidies and Grants
• ZonMw Programmes
• My ZonMw (Mijn ZonMw)
• Project Database
• ZonMw Academy
• ZonMw Connect
• ZonMw Parel (Pearl Award)

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Horizon Europe PartnershipscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Partnerships part of Horizon Europe (2021-2027). ZonMw participates in co-funded partnerships bringing together research funding bodies from multiple European Member States with national and EU budgets.
• European Partnership One Health AMR (EUP OHAMR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner53 organisations from 30 countries collaborating on antimicrobial resistance research. ZonMw participates in governance and strategic research agenda development.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NWO (Dutch Research Council): ZonMw's joint partner since 2001 and co-funder of the talent programmes (Veni, Vidi, Vici). NWO operates the broader Dutch national research funding infrastructure, making it the most directly comparable national peer.
• National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR): UK's largest funder of health and care research, financing research through programmes, training awards, and infrastructure funding. Direct functional analogue to ZonMw within the UK health research ecosystem.
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR): Canada's primary federal health research funding agency. Comparable model: government-funded, programme-driven, peer-reviewed grant administration for health research across disciplines.
• Medical Research Council (MRC, UK): UK Research and Innovation council funding medical research. Operates grant programmes, training fellowships, and international partnerships — closely paralleling ZonMw's NWO Medical Sciences domain function.
• Health~Holland (Top Sector Life Sciences & Health): Dutch public-private partnership for life sciences and health innovation, listed as a ZonMw partner and co-funder. Operates complementary innovation funding programmes within the Netherlands.

Broad incumbents

• National Institutes of Health (NIH): The world's largest public funder of biomedical and health-related research. NIH operates at far greater scale but serves the same fundamental function: government-funded health research programming, grant calls, and knowledge dissemination.
• German Research Foundation (DFG): Germany's central research funding organisation covering all disciplines including life sciences and medicine. Comparable in programme breadth and government-funded grant administration, though broader than ZonMw's health-only mandate.
• Wellcome Trust: Major charitable foundation funding health research globally with a similar dual mission of funding research and promoting knowledge utilisation. Comparable programme-driven grant model, though privately endowed rather than government-backed.
• Inserm (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research): France's national public research organisation for health and medical sciences. Hybrid research funder and operator, complementing ZonMw's pure programme-management model.

Regional players

• Zorginstituut Nederland: Dutch national healthcare institute managing quality, accessibility, and affordability of healthcare. Adjacent in Dutch health policy ecosystem, with overlapping ministerial reporting lines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zonmw
• Xx.com/ZonMw
• Facebookfacebook.com/zonmwNL

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ZonMw