Deadline: 03-Feb-2026
The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has announced the Call for Proposals for the “NWA Municipal Policy for Biodiversity Restoration” funding round to support interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research focused on biodiversity restoration within municipal environments.
The focus areas of the programme include nature-inclusive municipal policy for biodiversity restoration in the built environment, knowledge development and action perspectives for municipal policy for biodiversity restoration in the built environment, and knowledge for the transition to a nature-inclusive municipal policy for biodiversity in the built environment. The programme connects with The Green route: nature and biodiversity in a rapidly evolving environment and Smart, Liveable Cities under the NWA-Routes.
It aims to develop knowledge that supports a transformative change aimed at restoring and maintaining biodiversity, understood as a fundamental, system-wide change in technological, economic and social factors. Through living labs, the programme seeks to provide action perspectives for nature-inclusive policy development, political decision-making and policy implementation at municipal level in the built environment, better use of knowledge and the exchange of knowledge between research and municipalities, and between municipalities themselves and with other public authorities, and social insight and awareness within the municipal organisation that nature is of great importance and value to society.
With a total budget of €3.82 million, the funding round is expected to award one proposal that demonstrates strong collaboration between knowledge institutions and societal organisations. The aim is to address the increasing pressure on climate, nature, and biodiversity that has led to a decline in ecological quality, soil degradation, and polluted water systems. This initiative recognises that many of these challenges converge at the municipal level, where an integrated policy approach across housing, energy, agriculture, recreation, and industry is essential for effective biodiversity restoration.
Applications must be submitted by a consortium composed of at least a main applicant, co-applicant, and cooperation partner. The main applicant must hold a tenured position or a tenure track agreement at an eligible research organisation, which includes universities, universities of applied sciences, university medical centres, NWO or KNAW-affiliated institutes, TO2 institutions, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, the Advanced Research Centre for NanoLithography (ARCNL), or the Princess Máxima Center. Lectors at universities of applied sciences and researchers at TO2 institutes may also serve as main applicants if they hold a salaried position for a limited period.
This programme provides an important platform for advancing municipal-level biodiversity policies through integrated research, policy collaboration, and practice-oriented innovation that bridges scientific and societal knowledge.
For more information, visit NWO.