In order to increase the quality and the success rate of KWF proposals, there is a comprehensive assessment procedure for these projects. Projects that are not reviewed according to this procedure are not eligible for submission to the Dutch Cancer Society.

Outline of the internal KWF assessment procedure

  • Submission of a pre-proposal about 6 weeks before the KWF deadline. Your pre-proposal will be reviewed by a committee member and one of your suggested reviewers.
    Based on comments of the reviewers, the committee will give a positive (sometimes with suggestions for improvement) or negative advice for submission of the pre-proposal to KWF.
  • KWF will invite applicants with a positively evaluated pre-proposal to submit a full proposal.
  • Before the full proposal can be submitted to KWF, a second internal review will follow for possible improvements. We will inform applicants separately about this phase.
  • For some thematic calls or long-term programmes, alternative procedures are in place.

KWF Grant types

KWF Kankerbestrijding - Research and Implementation programme offers different types of funding, depending on the specific research phase. The following types of funding are available:

Research Project
A research project is a research proposal with a defined scope in terms of goal, expected results, duration, costs and research group(s)). There is no limit to the requested budget and time. However, the requested budget should be supported by financial projections. If the project involves collaboration between multiple organisations, the added value of each of the separate organisations has to be substantiated

Young Investigator Grant
The funding type Young Investigator Grant (YIG) is for researchers who are in an early stage of their scientific career. It is aimed at offering talented young researchers the opportunity to initiate an independent oncological research line. The young researcher must be capable of leading the project and executing the project independently.

Unique High Risk Project
The funding type Unique High Risk project (UHR) provides the possibility to perform short-term preparatory work to determine whether a not yet fully crystallized idea offers viable opportunities. This type of funding is to validate innovative ideas, to realize preliminary work and is meant for non-existing lines of research on a mostly theoretical basis, but with high potential for breakthroughs in science. Therefore, the project leader is an experienced scientist in the specific area to ensure pilot experiments will be undertaken efficiently.

Consortium Project
A project performed by four or more organizations (this does not include service providers, inclusion centers and co-funders) is always considered to be a Consortium project. Because of the complexity of a Consortium project, a project manager must be appointed to coordinate the project. In general, the duration of a Consortium project may last up to six years.

    For more information on KWF grants, visit the KWF website.

    Upcoming deadlines

    KWF Call 2026-1 Exploration - KWF deadline November 11, 2025 (pre-proposals) and April 7, 2026 (full proposals, KWF invitation only)

    Mandatory CCA support procedure and deadlines:

    1. Send your completed pre-proposal (see format) to cca@amsterdamumc.nl before Sunday 21 September 23:59.
    2. All pre-proposals will be reviewed and discussed by the CCA internal committee. You will receive the reviews, feedback, and submission decision before Tuesday 21 October.
    3. If you receive a positive advice, you can improve your pre-proposal based on the feedback. The KWF pre-proposal deadline is Tuesday 11 November at 12:00 (noon).
    4. Internal support is available for both pre-proposals and full proposals (by KWF invitation only) via our grant advisor, Marlize van Breugel (m.e.vanbreugel@amsterdamumc.nl).
    5. If you are unsure whether your project fits the scope of the Exploration Call, please contact Marlize for advice.
      KWF Resources

    Financial checklist for KWF applicants
    This checklist has been prepared in consultation with Amsterdam UMC project controllers and aims to support applicants in drafting the budget for their application.
    Download the KWF financial checklist.

    Data management section
    For the data management section of the proposal, it is sufficient to include a short summary of the most important points regarding data types, storage and accessibility. State that an elaborated data management plan (DMP) will be designed according to an institutional DMP template which is in line with the FAIR principles, will adresses all points from the KWF guidelines.
    Download a short template text for the data management section. This text can be adjusted according to your project requirements.

          KWF review committees

          There are two reviewing committees, a pre-clinical and a clinical committee. The committees consist of the following members:

          KWF pre-clinical research committee:                                   
          Prof. dr. M.F. (Maarten) Bijlsma, voorzitter
          Prof. dr. V.W. (Victor) van Beusechem
          Prof. dr. R.H. (Ruud) Brakenhoff
          Prof. dr. J. (Jacqueline) Cloos
          Dr. J. (Jeroen) Guikema
          Dr. M. (Myron) Best
          Dr. J.M.M. (Joke) den Haan
          Dr. R. (Rienk) Nieuwland
          Dr. M. (Marcel) Spaargaren
          Dr. M. (Maria) Themeli
          Dr. R. (Rieneke) van de Ven
          Dr. R.M.F. (Rob) Wolthuis
          M.A.J. (Marieke) Koelink, secretaris
          M.E. (Marlize) van Breugel, subsidieadviseur

          KWF clinical research committee
          Prof. dr. L.J.A. (Lukas) Stalpers, voorzitter
          Prof. dr. J.J.G.H.M. (Jacques) Bergman
          Prof. dr. M.G.H. (Marc) Besselink
          Dr. A.M.J. (Annemarie) Braamse
          Dr. T.E. (Tineke) Buffart
          Dr. V.M.H. (Veerle) Coupé
          Prof. dr. N.C.T. (Nicole) van Grieken
          Dr. C.J.A. (Niels) Haasbeek
          Prof. dr. M. (Martin) Klein
          Prof. dr. A.J. (Aart) Nederveen
          Dr. C.E. (Caroline) Rutten
          Dr. R. (Rutger-Jan) Swijnenburg
          Prof. dr. J.W. (Hanneke) Wilmink
          Prof. dr. J. (Josée) Zijlstra
          Mw. M.A.J. (Marieke) Koelink, secretaris