Development Call - 2027

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Scope

Development is outlined as the process needed to translate research findings into practical implementation. Therefore, project proposals should include a development plan describing all steps, stakeholders involved, feasibility assessments, and potential risks.

The Development Call is intended for project proposals with the application types:

  • Research Project
  • Unique High-Risk
  • Consortia

These proposals should fall within the Creation of Modality, Preclinical, Clinical or Implementation research phases.

The goal of creation of modality research is the extensive characterization and further development of new inventions/modalities until there is sufficient (in vitro and in vivo) evidence from model systems or retrospective data and sample sets, to start preparing for human evaluation. 

The development of psychosocial interventions is included in this research phase. 

Human participation in the development of inventions/modalities is possible in this phase when it is not meant for a validation in a human setting. Starting from this research phase, concrete solutions for specific problems and needs (including unmet medical needs) are developed and validated.

The goal of preclinical research is the completion of all stages required to start the clinical/human evaluation of a new invention/modality in subjects, such as:

  • the development of GMP/clinical-grade production, toxicity testing, pilot or technical testing, successful IND/IMPD/CE submission and regulatory/ethical aspects
  • prospective analyses of the clinical feasibility of an invention or modality without performing the actual intervention (e.g. prospective biomarker studies without changing the actual treatment)

The goal of clinical research is to realize prospective clinical research, such as:

  • a prospective clinical evaluation of a new invention/modality or assay/tool using a limited number of subjects
  • establishing the effectiveness of a new invention, dosage, off-label usage, combinations of modalities or psychosocial treatment
  • changes to treatment regimens associated with existing methodologies (including population checks) in a patient population

Implementation research encompasses scientific studies on methods to promote the delivery and enhance the adoption of evidence-based interventions in (clinical) practice aligning with the main goals of KWF. 
A project proposal must have a research focus, including a scientific research question. 

Eligible projects focus on any aspect of Implementation research, including the factors affecting implementation, the process of implementation and the results of implementation. This also includes how to introduce potential solutions into a (health) system or how to promote their large-scale use and sustainability. The purpose is to understand what, why, and how evidence-based interventions/new methods work in 'real world' settings, and to test approaches in order to improve them.

Out of Scope

Please be aware that projects that fall within the scope of specific thematic calls will be excluded from consideration under this open call. For this call, this applies to projects aligning with the following initiatives:

  • Call for Validation of Biomarker Candidates. Supports multidisciplinary research to clinically validate promising biomarker candidates and advance them towards implementation in routine cancer care (TRL5/6).
  • Call for Implementation of Biomarkers. Supports research to implement clinically validated biomarkers into routine cancer care and enable their sustainable adotion at national scale (TRL7-9).
  • Call PIPELINE. Supports translational research to advance promising cancer therapies towards clinical application and patient benefit.
  • Call INTER-LOCAL. Supports international collaborative clinical research to improve local treatment strategies for patients with rare and hard-to-treat cancers.
  • Risk-Based Screening of pancreatic cancer in individuals at high risk. Supports research to develop, validate and implement risk-based cancer screening strategies that enable more personalized early detection.

If your project aligns with the scope of any of the above thematic calls or programmes, it is not eligible for submission under the current open call. For details on these scopes, please consult the relevant call text or contact us. Please specify which of the above calls it concerns.
For more information about the rationale behind this policy, see our Funding Alignment Policy.

Cirkel van Gepast Gebruik (CvGG)

 If your project proposal focuses on:

  • safely reducing, shortening, or omitting surgical or other non-systemic tumor treatments (‘de-esclation studies´), aimed at providing appropriate and less burdensome care or,
  • the evaluation of the effectiveness and implementation of personalized lifestyle programs within cancer care

it may be eligible for the KWF pilot applying the Cirkel van Gepast Gebruik (CvGG) methodology.

In that case, please contact us to discuss which funding opportunities would be the best fit for your proposal:

This pilot KWF-CvGG explores targeted funding alongside KWF’s regular development calls, aiming to enhance the likelihood of successful implementation by involving relevant stakeholders as co-owners of the research question from the outset. In this pilot we collaborate with the Foundation for Healthcare Evaluation (ZE&GG) and build on the Appropriate Care Cycle (CvGG) methodology. It is specifically intended for care evaluation (zorgevaluaties) of existing care practices. Proposals should therefore not focus on the development of new or innovative interventions, but on the evaluation of programs that are already being delivered in routine care practice.

Terms and Conditions

  • Please refer to the KWF Guidelines (see downloads) for further details on the process, characteristics, and eligibility terms applicable to this Development call
  • The KWF Funding Conditions 2025 and the KWF Accountants Protocol 2025 apply. These documents are available only in Dutch and are named KWF Financieringsvoorwaarden 2025 and KWF Accountantsprotocol 2025 respectively (see downloads). 
    - Projects that do not fit within the scope of the Development call due to selecting the incorrect research phase will not be considered.  It is the project leader's responsibility to ensure submission to the correct call.

Timeline Call 2027

Opening pre-proposals: 28 July 2026
Closure pre-proposals: 6 October 2026 (12.00 noon)
Opening full proposals: January 2027
Closure full proposals: 16 March 2027 (12:00 noon)
Consortium interviews:   May 2027
Funding decision: July 2027

Apply for funding

The application procedure consists of a pre-proposal and full-proposal phase. Both should be submitted through our Grant Management System (KWF GMS) before their corresponding deadlines (see above).

PLEASE NOTE: Participating institutes not yet registered must submit a request through KWF-GMS at least 6 weeks prior to the call's closing date.

Interviews

Please note that interviews are held only for the application type Consortium. Interviews are not part of the assessment procedure for Research Projects or Unique High Risk (UHR) applications.

Patient Advisory Committee

The Patient Advisory Committee (PACO) plays a vital role in evaluating applications from the patient’s perspective. This committee ensures that the needs and experiences of patients are appropriately considered in project proposals.  
To ensure that patient involvement is properly assessed and given due importance, the PACO review carries a fixed weighting. For the final score, the ratio (Scientific) Review Board/PACO is 70/30, provided that the (Scientific) Review Board advises the project proposal to be fundable. PACO members will base their assessment solely on the Dutch Summary, the Schematic Project Plan, and the Patient Participation section of your full proposal. Therefore, please ensure that these components are completed thoroughly and articulated clearly.

Additional information

KWF encourages collaboration with private enterprises when a public-private partnership is the most effective route for product development and towards implementation. It is the Project Leader's responsibility to ensure that partners have correct roles (Participating Organisation; Co-funder; Service Provider) and that roles, contributions, ownership/rights and existing agreements are explained in the Collaboration and Parties of the Project sections of the pre-proposal application form (Please also refer to Chapter 4 of the Funding Conditions).

For the full proposal, all Participating Organisations must be filled out correctly under the Parties of the Project tab in GMS and be registered in GMS. Letters of Commitment of Participating Organisations and Co-funders are requested at the preproposal stage and draft agreements with Participating Organisations and Co-funders at submission of the full proposal. More information is provided in the Guidelines and the FAQs (see downloads).  

This call requires that national multicenter clinical trials in the field of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers submit a support letter from the relevant national research group (DCCG, DHCG, DPCG, DPOG, or DUCG) to be eligible for funding. Only proposals invited to the full-proposal phase are required to include a letter of support. This is not yet required at the pre-proposal stage.

This requirement applies to:

  • (Academic) interventional research in phases 1–3 of clinical research
  • Multicenter clinical studies involving four or more (≥4) centers
  • Studies focusing on tumor types covered by one of the five national research groups listed above

This initiative aims to identify potential challenges at an early stage - such as limited feasibility, slow patient recruitment, or overlap with ongoing studies - thereby increasing the likelihood of successful trial implementation. The required support letter serves as confirmation that the study has been reviewed by the research group in terms of both scientific content and operational feasibility. Moreover, the pilot encourages collaboration and fosters more efficient use of existing databases and research infrastructures.

For more detailed information, please refer to the instruction document in GMS, which is located under the Documentation header within each application type.