STAATSCOURANT Officiële uitgave van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden sinds 1814. Call for proposals, Cities Amidst Climate Change: Enhancing Physical and Social Resilience in Urban Areas, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Cooperation China – the Netherlands (NSFC) 2024 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Available budget 2 1.3 Submission deadline(s) 2 2 Aim 2 2.1 Aim of the programme 2 2.2 Thematic focus 2 2.3 Integrated research approach and international collaboration 4 2.4 Societal impact 5 3 Conditions for applicants 6 3.1 Who can apply 6 3.2 What can be applied for 10 3.3 Preparing an application 12 3.4 Conditions for submission 14 3.5 Conditions on granting 14 4 Assessment procedure 17 4.1 The San Francisco Declaration (DORA) 17 4.2 Procedure 17 4.3 Criteria 19 5 Obligations for grant recipients 20 5.1 Additional terms and conditions 20 6 Contact and other information 23 6.1 Contact 23 6.2 Other information 23 7 Annexes 23 7.1 Budget modules and rates 23 7.2 Indexing 27 7.3 Additional annexes 27 1 Introduction In this Call for proposals information is provided about the application procedure for the ‘Cities Amidst Climate Change: Enhancing Physical and Social Resilience in Urban Areas’ funding round. This Call for proposals falls under the responsibility of the Dutch Research Council (NWO). In this Call for proposals you will find information about the aim of this programme (Chapter 2), the conditions for the grant application (Chapter 3) and how your proposal will be assessed (Chapter 4). This is the information you need to submit a grant application. Chapter 5 states the obligations for grant recipients in the event you are awarded funding. Chapter 6 contains the contact details and Chapter 7 the annexes. 1.1 Background There is a long history of scientific collaboration between China and the Netherlands. The Dutch Research Council (NWO), through the the Merian Fund, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) aim to further stimulate long-term research collaborations between their two countries. By funding joint research, they intend to strengthen the international position and global impact of their mutual research. Funding is provided for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary consortia of Chinese and Dutch research groups and stakeholder partners, for high quality research that has the potential for societal and scientific impact. The Cooperation China – the Netherlands Programme (NSFC) is one of several instruments in the bilateral research cooperation between China and the Netherlands. NWO and NSFC have agreed on a strategic knowledge and innovation agenda. A Call for proposals on a jointly agreed theme, based on this agenda, is published annually. Funded research should be in alignment with national research agendas, as well as international initiatives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and build bridges between different actors in the knowledge chain, fundamental and applied research, and scientific disciplines. The theme for this Call is ‘Cities Amidst Climate Change: Enhancing Physical and Social Resilience in Urban Areas’. 1.2 Available budget The available budget for this call is € 2,800,000 on the Dutch side, and RMB 12,000,000 on the Chinese side. With the available budget, NWO and NSFC aim to fund up to four projects with a maximum duration of four years on the Dutch side and a fixed duration of four years on the Chinese side. Projects can apply for a maximum of € 700,000 at NWO, and for a maximum of RMB 3,000,000 at NSFC. The NWO Grant Rules are applicable to the part of the project’s budget covered by the grant from NWO. The part of the budget covered by the grant from NSFC must follow the NSFC grant conditions. Please see Chapter 3 for further details. 1.3 Submission deadline(s) The deadlines for submitting full proposals are:

− Tuesday 11 March 2025, before 14:00:00 hours CET at NWO, and

− Wednesday 12 March 2025, at 16:00:00 hours CST at NSFC.

Applications must be submitted on time to both NWO (via ISAAC) and NSFC (via http://grants.nsfc.gov.cn/egrantweb/). When you submit your application to NWO in ISAAC, you will also need to enter some details online, such as the names and organisations of your consortium members. Therefore, please start submitting your application at least five days before the deadline of this Call for proposals. Applications that are submitted after the deadline to either NWO or NSFC, or that are not submitted to both funders, will not be taken into consideration. When submitting the proposal to NSFC, please take care to use the discipline code G0413. 2 Aim This chapter describes the aim of the programme and the societal impact. 2.1 Aim of the programme Many societal challenges are complex and interrelated. To address them requires sustainable collaboration, and flexibility and creativity to achieve sustainable results for effective and impactful solutions. The collaborative research financed by NWO and NSFC in this Call is intended to work towards scientific knowledge and sustainable, innovative solutions for high scientific and societal impact. At the same time, NWO and NSFC aim to stimulate strong, sustainable research collaboration between their two countries. They do this by inviting consortia in which researchers from knowledge institutions from both countries will work with societal partners from public, semi-public and private organisations, in order to increase the societal relevance and impact of their research. The current Call focuses on ‘Cities Amidst Climate Change: Enhancing Physical and Social Resilience in Urban Areas’, a topic of great interest and importance to both the Netherlands and China. The research conducted in this Call for proposals should have relevance and potential for impact beyond the academic world, such as in societal, technical, economical or cultural realms. Therefore, there should be close interaction between different types of research as well as co- creation between public authorities, researchers, and private partners. Successful projects in this call will integrate relevant research at academic institutions and activities of private partners and public authorities. They will also ensure that activities are well embedded in the regional context by involving local stakeholders. The Call ‘Cities Amidst Climate Change: Enhancing Physical and Social Resilience in Urban Areas’ responds to the major challenge of climate change. By examining practical measures, underlying questions can be answered and directly linked to enhance the physical and social resilience in urban areas. 2.2 Thematic focus Climate change is an acute challenge affecting the entire world and can only be tackled effectively through transnational joint efforts. These efforts should be dedicated to mitigating both cause and impact of climate change; for example, by transitioning to renewable energy sources as well as by increasing the resilience of the environment. This Call for proposals focuses on enhancing the physical and social resilience in urban areas. Proposals can focus on urban renewal and the transformation of urban areas, such as Binckhorst (in The Hague) and Merwede kanaalzone (in Utrecht) in the Netherlands, and Guangzhou’s Zhuhai district and Shenyang’s Tiexi district in China. Likewise, proposals can focus on historic cities. Many historic cities in the Netherlands and China are involved in the renovation, reconstruction or remodelling of old urban areas, especially how to mitigate the risks and impacts of climate change. These include cities such as Utrecht, Maastricht, Leiden and Delft in the Netherlands, and Xi’an, Nanjing, Tianjin and other old urban areas remodelling in China. Historic cities deal with challenges related to the preservation of the historic character of the city, whilst adapting to contemporary challenges, e.g., the effects of climate change. Most of the population in the Netherlands and in China lives in cities and urbanisation will increase towards 2050 (World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations). The importance of cities is also underlined in UN Sustainable Development Goal number 11 ‘Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’. The growing populations in these cities deserves them to be safe, healthy and enjoyable places to live. Part of making that possible is incorporating measures to adapt the physical environment to the increasing effects of climate change, like heat stress, drought, (flash) floods and (local) storms. This will be essential for the long-term sustainability and resilience of the cities, as well as the safety and well- being of the communities in them. This Call aims at creating real and sustainable solutions for both Dutch and Chinese societies. Finding these solutions will require an integral and interdisciplinary approach, due to the complex interactions between accelerating effects of climate change, the complex nature of the urban climate, and its interaction with the physical and social environment. Sustainable cities The creation of sustainable cities requires a systemic approach. Within the broad concept of climate adaptation in cities, a key innovation area for both the Netherlands and China is the renovation, regeneration, or transformation of existing urban areas, including old urban areas. In such areas a systemic approach is essential and climate adaptation measures should be complementary with other transition strategies, such as renewable energy, smart and sustainable mobility or restauration of ecosystem services. Developing such systemic approaches is a global societal challenge, with huge mutual knowledge benefits. Inclusive cities While urban renewal has the potential to create more inclusive cities by improving infrastructure, enhancing public spaces such as parks and recreational facilities, and preserving cultural heritage, it also poses challenges such as gentrification and affordability concerns for vulnerable groups. To ensure that urban renewal benefits all residents and promotes inclusivity, it is essential to prioritise equity and meaningful participation of diverse stakeholders in the planning and implementation process. The selected research projects should therefore result in original scientific insights and viable practical solutions, with direct involvement of the urban community. Research should, for example, envision nature-inspired designs, biobased materials, and nature-inclusive strategies for enriching biodiversity in urban areas. Efficient recycling, refurbishment and reuse of secondary building components construction materials could be investigated to minimise the embodied carbon footprint in the renovated or transformed urban areas. Participatory approaches in refurbishment of residential, commercial and public building stocks and neighbourhood infrastructures, long-term commitment for a just climate transition, and safeguarding of ageing population and other vulnerable groups against the health and safety risks of climate change should be part of the innovative direction towards inclusive cities. The selected research projects should collaborate and involve various stakeholders, including local government bodies, residents, businesses, non-profits and urban planners. Proposals should demonstrate out-of-the-box thinking. Complementary knowledge and lasting positive impacts in cities will thus be achieved through thinking globally and acting locally. The body-of- knowledge should encompass the application of digitalisation in sustainable and inclusive cities to enable smart cities. 2.3 Integrated research approach and international collaboration 2.3.1 Integrated research approach and co-creation The challenges addressed in this call are interrelated and multi-scalar, and to reach impact require a holistic approach that spans the entire research and innovation chain. The consortia should crosscut scientific disciplinary boundaries (interdisciplinarity) and integrate scientific and practitioners’ knowledge in joint research (transdisciplinarity). Research should focus on the entire knowledge chain, from fundamental to applied and practical research. The proposed research itself should be characterised by integrated perspectives. It should evolve in a process of co-creation with different partners: researchers from both countries and societal partners should be actively involved throughout the entire project, in (advising on) defining and conducting the research as well as in communicating the progress and results, in order to jointly produce a mutually valued outcome. Added value may be achieved by integrating and synthesising various sources of knowledge to create new knowledge and by creating sustainability through the development of long-term knowledge relations. Applications should be based on a thorough review of existing knowledge and should preferably be complementary to existing research initiatives and reinforce these were possible. Project teams are encouraged to use a combination of quantitative, qualitative and quasi-experimental research methods, including operational research, and should include research-into-use approaches. Projects are also expected to collaborate with the other projects awarded in this call, so as to enhance the impact of the call as a whole. As a part of this, projects will be invited to attend joint kick-off and mid-term workshops, as well as a final conference. Projects should budget for this accordingly, using the NWO budget module “Knowledge Utilisation”. 2.3.2 Fair research collaboration For research partnerships to be effective, they have to be fair1NWO adheres to the Research Fairness Initiative of COHRED.. Proposals should be characterised by equal partnership and sustainable collaboration among the partners in the consortium and with relevant stakeholders. This includes gender equality. Evidence of such active engagement will be an element in the assessment of project proposals. Consortium members, in close collaboration with team members and stakeholders, will steer the process of clarifying the demand; translate knowledge gaps into relevant research questions and approaches; formulate and submit the proposal; conduct, guide and advise on the research activities; coordinate and carry out communication and (possible) capacity strengthening activities; share (intermediary) research outputs with relevant practitioner communities; support and enhance the communication of the research outputs to a broader group of (local) stakeholders outside the consortium; and support the application of new knowledge and insights. 2.3.3 International collaboration Applications should furthermore be characterised by equitable partnership and sustainable collaboration between the Chinese and Dutch partners. This includes inter-institutional cooperation, a balanced contribution to the proposed research, and frequent exchange between the partners, including exchange visits by both senior and junior researchers. Projects must organise a maximum of four research visits (in total) of a minimum of three months for PhD students and/or post docs. Senior researchers should spend at least three weeks in total, over the duration of the project, on research visits. Projects should budget for this accordingly. 2.3.4 Inclusion of early-career researchers NWO and NSFC aim to stimulate strong, sustainable research collaboration between their two countries. Early-career researchers play an important role in the sustainability of research collaboration. Therefore, this Call pays additional attention to inclusion of and leadership by early- career researchers in the consortium, and the guidance and opportunities for early career researchers in the proposal. For example, to set up and lead projects or work packages. This will also be assessed by the external referees and the assessment committee. 2.4 Societal impact New knowledge and insights from research can make an important contribution to developing solutions for the various issues society faces, including, amongst other things, the energy transition, health and care, or climate change. By facilitating greater interaction and alignment between researchers and potential knowledge users, the chance of knowledge utilisation increases, as well as the likelihood of generating societal impact. Societal impact here stands for changes that (partly) result from research-generated knowledge and skills. These changes contribute to the well-being of people, planet and society for this and future generations. In this Call, NWO and NSFC promote the potential contribution that research can make to societal issues by encouraging productive interactions with societal stakeholders, both during the development stage and the subsequent implementation of research. It does so in a manner that is in accordance with the aim of the particular funding instrument. NWO and NSFC encourage researchers to reflect on the potential desired and undesired impact of their research from a broad perspective. 2.4.1 Tailor-made impact The primary aim of the funding instrument determines the method that NWO will deploy to facilitate knowledge utilisation in various phases of the project (proposal, realisation, project completion) as well as the effort required from the applicant(s) and partner(s). In this programme, the Impact Plan approach is applied. With this, NWO and NSFC facilitate the development of an integrated strategy that will enable researchers and partners to purposefully increase the likelihood of achieving the desired societal impact. NWO offers an e-learning module that can help interested parties via Online impact workshops |NWO. For more information on our policy on impact, please visit the website: Knowledge utilisation |NWO. 2.4.2 Impact plan approach Applicants are asked to include an Impact Plan integrated into the research design that sets out the potential pathways for impact of the proposed research. In addition to having a societal or industry partner within the consortium, consortia should consider how relevant stakeholders can be involved in, or benefit from, the design and realisation of the proposed project. The Impact Plan consists of the following elements:

− A Theory of Change is a comprehensive description and illustration of how and why a desired change (impact) is expected to occur in a particular context. A Theory of Change is the missing link between what one does in a research study (the activities or interventions) and how that will lead to the realisation of the intended impact. Developing a Theory of Change is a joint effort with research partners as well as stakeholders, to allow for making explicit which (and whose) problem is being tackled, and how the desired change is perceived to happen through research efforts. Projections on expected change will be based on a myriad of assumptions; documenting these assumptions allows for reflection on whether and how expected pathways to impact remain adequate or need adjustment. A Theory of Change is not fixed, but rather reflected on continuously throughout the research process. For this reason, it is also used as part of the monitoring, evaluation and learning trajectory.

− The Impact Pathway, which is part of the Theory of Change, is the visualisation of the change process following from research execution as described in the Theory of Change (see the visualisation Box 1: Defining Output, outcome and impact,’ annex 7.3). It makes explicit how the research activities will lead to new insights (outputs), and how exchange of knowledge and the uptake of research output will contribute to desired changes in behaviour, relationships, actions and activities of partners and stakeholders (outcomes) that are considered essential to achieving the desired impact.

− Productive interactions: Exchanges between researchers and stakeholders in which knowledge is produced and valued that is both scientifically robust and socially relevant. Productive interactions are relational factors that promote (intermediate) knowledge utilisation and that can be consciously steered. The productivity of the interaction determines whether it contributes to knowledge utilisation. Examples of productive interactions are: formulation of research questions and approaches jointly with potential end-users such as practitioners, policy makers and industry (co-design), joint execution of research projects (co- creation), and interactive dialogue on research results. Interactions can be direct/personal, indirect or financial.

− A Strategic Activity Planning spells out how the proposed productive interactions contribute to achieving outcomes. Outputs do not automatically lead to outcomes; therefore, strategies are needed to plan and monitor how the consortium’s efforts will enhance the potential for outcomes. This planning should include specific activities for:

• Stakeholder engagement: who are the relevant stakeholders to engage with according to your context analysis, how are the productive interactions organised and when?;

• Communication strategy: how are engagement dialogues organised and results exchanged and translated, and whose responsibility is it?;

• Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning: how are results of activities monitored and evaluated, such so that assumptions can be tested and activities adjusted accordingly, and whose responsibility is it?;

• Capacity strengthening: how are required capacities (of consortium partners and stakeholders) strengthened in order to achieve the outcomes, how is this organised and whose responsibility is it?

An important part of the Theory of Change and Impact Pathway is to identify assumptions and make them explicit. This concerns assumptions of the members of the consortium as well as those of stakeholders. Making these assumptions explicit can help identify where change may happen in a different way than envisioned, and where adjustment may be necessary or more knowledge is needed. Activities that are related to the Impact Plan should be placed under the budget module ‘’Knowledge utilisation’’ in the NWO budget, or can be requested from the NSFC budget. NWO offers an e-learning module that can help interested parties via Online impact workshops |NWO. For more information on our policy on impact, please visit the website: Knowledge utilisation |NWO. Box 1: Defining Output, outcome and impact Research outputs relate to the direct and immediate insights obtained by a research project or programme. Research outcomes relate to the changes in behaviour, relationships, actions, or activities of stakeholders as a result of sharing and uptake of research (who does what differently). Research impact is defined as changes in economic, environmental and social conditions that a project or programme aims to contribute to. It is the “dot on the horizon” and often only realised years after the project has concluded. Change is a complex process that depends on a variety of actors and factors of which research is only one. Where research outputs fall under the direct sphere of control of a research project or programme, outcomes belong to their sphere of influence, and impact to their sphere of interest. 3 Conditions for applicants This chapter contains the conditions that are applicable to your grant application. Firstly it describes who can apply for funding (Section 3.1) and what you can request funding for (Section 3.2). Subsequently, you will find the conditions for preparing and submitting the application (Sections 3.3 and 3.4) and the specific funding conditions (Section 3.5). 3.1 Who can apply Eligible consortia are composed of researchers based in the Netherlands and in China, with active involvement in the project of a main applicant2A “main applicant” is responsible for the communication between the consortium and NWO and NSFC during the assessment procedure, as well as bears the main responsibility for the project, such as its technical and administrative coordination, and the scientific and financial reporting. on both the Dutch and the Chinese side, as well as a Dutch and a Chinese co-applicant from different organisations than the main applicants. The consortium must also include a collaboration partner from a public, semi-public or private practitioner organisation (for-profit or not-for-profit). Specifically, the Dutch and Chinese sides of the consortium must fulfil the following requirements: Dutch side of the consortium:

− One main applicant who fulfils the requirements of 3.1.1, who will be the Dutch project leader if the proposal is awarded funding;

− At least one co-applicant who fulfils the requirements of 3.1.2, who is of a different organisation than the main applicant; Please note: a different faculty or different department is not sufficient;

− A collaboration partner from a public, semi-public or private practitioner organisation (for- profit or not-for-profit) from either the Netherlands or China.

Chinese side of the consortium:

− One main applicant who fulfils the requirements of 3.1.1, who will be the Chinese project leader if the proposal is awarded funding;

− A minimum of two and maximum three teams from universities / institutes, or a partner from a public, semi-public or private practitioner organisation, who replaces one of the teams. The university or institute of the main applicant counts as one of the teams.

Together, the consortium members will: 1) formulate relevant research questions and approaches;

2) formulate and submit the proposal through the main applicants; 3) conduct the project activities;

4) coordinate knowledge sharing and support the implementation, dissemination and communication of the project results to a broader group of possible knowledge users that are not a member of the consortium; and 5) take responsibility for the adequate and timely reporting conditions.

Only one application will be admitted to the assessment procedure for each main applicant and each consortium. This call aims at knowledge chain-wide collaboration, to enhance demand articulation, ownership, and the effective uptake of results. For this reason, all consortium partners, as well as relevant stakeholders, are expected to be engaged in all phases of the project execution, from its inception to sharing the (emerging) results. Evidence of such active engagement will be an important element in the assessment of project proposals and may be demonstrated through references to involvement in project preparation and execution, and links between the proposed research project and ongoing projects of NGOs, private enterprises, and/or policy implementation. 3.1.1 Main applicants A proposal should have two main applicants (principal investigators): one researcher based in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch main applicant), and one based in China (Chinese main applicant). The two main applicants will serve as the recipients of the grants from their respective funding agencies, NWO and NSFC. They will serve as the points of contact for their respective funding agencies and will submit the proposal to both organisations. The main applicants’ organisations will take responsibility for the project secretariat, the day-to-day management and all financial affairs of the research project, including the final financial accountability towards their respective funding agencies. The Dutch main applicant will furthermore serve as point of contact for the NWO call secretariat for the duration of the assessment procedure, and is responsible for ensuring that feedback on the eligibility of the application, reviewer reports, information regarding the rebuttal, and any further information such as the NWO grant award decision communicated regarding the assessment of the proposal is shared with the other consortium members. The Dutch main applicant is also responsible for submission of the application in ISAAC, and for submitting any additional documentation such as the rebuttal on behalf of the consortium. The Chinese main applicant will serve as contact point for NSFC for the duration of the assessment procedure, and is responsible for sharing any further information received from NSFC, such as the NSFC grant award decision, with the consortium. Dutch main applicant Researchers may submit an application if they have a tenured position (and therefore a paid position for an indefinite period) or a tenure track agreement at one of the following research organisations:

− Universities and universities of applied sciences (UAS) as referred to in Article 1.8 paragraph 1 of the Higher Education and Scientific Research Act and universities listed in the Policy Rules forUniversities located in the Kingdom of the Netherlands;

− university medical centres by which is meant academic hospitals as referred to in Article 1.13 paragraph 1 of the Higher Education and Scientific Research Act;

− institutes affiliated to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) or NWO;

− Netherlands Cancer Institute;

− the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen;

− Naturalis Biodiversity Center;

− Advanced Research Centre for NanoLithography (ARCNL);

− Princess Máxima Center.

Main applicants may also be affiliated to other research organisations as referred to in Article 1.1, paragraph 4 of the NWO Grant Rules and which meet the following cumulative conditions. The organisation must:

− be established in the Netherlands;

− be a foundation, association or legal entity governed by public law;

− have as its primary goal the independent conduct of its own fundamental research, industrial research or experimental development;

− be able to state that the organisation keeps separate accounts with regard to economic/non- economic activities and that undertakings with decisive influence on the organisation do not enjoy preferential access to the organisation's results.

NWO will not fund research organisations under this Call for proposals that are primarily engaged in the wide dissemination of the results of research activities by way of teaching, publication or knowledge. Please note: Prior to the submission of an application NWO assesses on the basis of the above- mentioned conditions whether an organisation complies with Article 1.1, paragraph 4 of the NWO Grant Rules and may therefore participate as a main applicant. NWO performs this assessment to preclude the granting of prohibited state aid. This assessment must also be conducted if an organisation was assessed within another NWO programme and was permitted as a main applicant. The organisation of the prospective main applicant must provide the following documents no less than 10 working days prior to the submission deadline (meaning no later than Tuesday 25 February 2025 before 14:00:00 CET) by email to nsfc-nwo@nwo.nl:

− a recent extract from the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce;

− the deed of incorporation or current articles of association;

− the latest available annual accounts accompanied by an audit statement3Organisations that are not legally obliged to have their annual accounts audited do not need to provide such an auditor’s statement. They must however be able to demonstrate that this legal requirement is not applicable to the organisation concerned.;

− the completed Declaration Research organisation, available on funding page of this Call for proposals.

Other relevant documentation may be added. NWO may request additional information if the above documents are not sufficiently conclusive to determine whether the organisation may act as a main applicant. If the organisation of the prospective main applicant does not submit the necessary documents for this assessment in time, NWO cannot accept the organisation as a main applicant. Persons with a zero-hour employment agreement or with a contract for a limited period of time (other than a tenure track appointment) may not submit a proposal. It could be the case that the applicant’s tenure track agreement ends before the intended completion date of the project for which funding is applied for, or that before that date, the applicant’s tenured contract ends due to the applicant reaching retirement age. In that case, the applicant needs to include a statement from their employer in which the research organisation concerned guarantees that the project and all project members for whom funding has been requested will receive adequate supervision for the full duration of the project. Applicants with a part-time contract should guarantee adequate supervision of the project and all project members for whom funding is requested. Chinese main applicant For Chinese researchers, NSFC requires the main applicant (principal investigator) to:

− have a senior academic rank (title), i.e. associate professor or above.

− be the Principal Investigator of an on-going or completed NSFC grant with a duration of three years or longer. For more information, please refer to the NSFC call text on the website of NSFC (https://www.nsfc.gov.cn/publish/portal0/tab434/module1146/more.htm).

3.1.2 Co-applicants Co-applicants have an active role in realising the project. Dutch co-applicants At least one co-applicant must be from a different eligible organisation than the Dutch main applicant. Co-applicants may be affiliated to the research organisations listed in Section 3.1.1, and to other research organisations as referred to in Article 1.1, paragraph 4 of the NWO Grant Rules and which meet the following cumulative conditions. The organisation must:

− be established in the Netherlands;

− be a foundation, association or legal entity governed by public law;

− have as its primary goal the independent conduct of its own fundamental research, industrial research or experimental development;

− be able to state that the organisation keeps separate accounts with regard to economic/non- economic activities and that undertakings with decisive influence on the organisation do not enjoy preferential access to the organisation's results.

NWO will not fund research organisations under this Call for proposals that are primarily engaged in the wide dissemination of the results of research activities by way of teaching, publication or knowledge. Please note: Prior to the submission of an application NWO assesses on the basis of the above- mentioned conditions whether an organisation complies with Article 1.1, paragraph 4 of the NWO Grant Rules and may therefore participate as a co-applicant. NWO performs this assessment to preclude the granting of prohibited state aid. This assessment must also be conducted if an organisation was assessed within another NWO programme and was permitted as a co-applicant. The organisation of the prospective co-applicant must provide the following documents no less than 10 working days prior to the submission deadline (meaning no later than Tuesday 25 February 2025 before 14:00:00 CET) by email to nsfc-nwo@nwo.nl:

− a recent extract from the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce;

− the deed of incorporation or current articles of association;

− the latest available annual accounts accompanied by an audit statement4Organisations that are not legally obliged to have their annual accounts audited do not need to provide such an auditor’s statement. They must however be able to demonstrate that this legal requirement is not applicable to the organisation concerned.;

− the completed Declaration Research organisation, available on funding page of this Call for proposals.

Other relevant documentation may be added. NWO may request additional information if the above documents are not sufficiently conclusive to determine whether the organisation may act as a co- applicant. If the organisation of the prospective co-applicant does not submit the necessary documents for this assessment in time, NWO cannot accept the organisation as a co-applicant. Persons with a zero-hour employment agreement or with a contract for a limited period of time (other than a tenure track appointment) may not submit a proposal. It could be the case that the co-applicant’s tenure track agreement ends before the intended completion date of the project for which funding is applied for, or that before that date, the co- applicant’s tenured contract ends due to the co-applicant reaching retirement age. In that case, the co- applicant needs to include a statement from their employer in which the organisation concerned guarantees that the project and all project members for whom funding has been requested will receive adequate supervision for the full duration of the project. Please note that one co-applicant must be from a different eligible organisation than the Dutch main applicant. NWO will not award funding if, in its view, the provision of funding would constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Chinese co-applicants The Chinese side of the consortium should consist of a minimum two and maximum three teams from universities/institutes, or a partner from a public, semi-public or private practitioner organisation, who replaces one of the teams. The university or institute of the Chinese main applicant counts as one of the teams; the rest should be registered as co-applicants in the application form. 3.1.3 Public and/or private practitioner collaboration partners Consortia should contain a public and/or private practitioner collaboration partner. Public and/or private practitioner collaboration partners are partners from the public and/or semi-public sectors and/or industry. They are closely involved with the research and impact strategy. Please note that personnel of these organisations are excluded from payment of salaries and research costs from the NWO grant, unless they are hired through material costs work by third parties (see “3.2 What can be applied for”). A public and/or private collaboration partner on the Chinese side of the consortium will be considered one of the two or three teams and can receive funding from the NSFC grant. All organisations participating in a consortium must be registered as a legal persona. 3.1.4 Responsibilities and tasks of main applicants, co-applicants and consortium members The Dutch main applicant submits the full proposal via the NWO web application ISAAC and the Chinese main applicant submits the full proposal via NSFC’s submission system (http://grants.nsfc.gov.cn/egrantweb/). They are responsible for informing each other and the rest of the consortium of any feedback received with regard to the consideration of the application and the final decision. The Dutch main applicant is also responsible for submitting any additional documentation (such as the rebuttal) in ISAAC. During the assessment process, NWO will communicate with the Dutch main applicant. The Dutch main applicant is responsible for sharing feedback with the other consortium members on the eligibility of the application, reviewer reports, information regarding the rebuttal, and any further information such as the NWO grant award decision communicated regarding the assessment of the proposal. The Chinese main applicant and the Dutch main applicant will be informed of the grant decision by their respective funding agencies. After a proposal has been awarded funding, the Dutch and Chinese main applicants will become the project leaders and point of contact for their respective funding agencies. The research organisations of the main applicants are the main beneficiaries and will take responsibility for the project secretariat, the day-to-day management and all financial affairs of the research project, including the final financial accountability towards their respective funding agencies. Co-applicants have an active role in realising the project. The (sub)project leaders, beneficiary/beneficiaries, and practitioner consortium partners are jointly responsible for realising the entire project. 3.2 What can be applied for Different costs can be reimbursed from the NSFC and NWO grants. The application form allows applicants to specify which organisation should cover a certain cost. For this call, two budgets should be completed; one specifying all costs to be covered by the NWO grant and one specifying all costs to be covered by the NSFC grant. Reimbursable costs from NWO Per project, a grant amount of at most € 700,000 can be applied for. The maximum duration of the proposed project is 4 years. The applicant and co-applicants can include costs for personnel, equipment, investments and knowledge utilisation. The available budget modules (including the maximum amounts) are listed below. Apply only for funding that is vital to realise the project. The rates and an explanation of these budget modules are given in annex 7.1. 3.2.1 Personnel Funding may be requested for salary costs of personnel contributing to the project. The amount depends on the type of appointment and the organisation where the personnel is employed. 3.2.1.1 Personnel at a university in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, umc or a research organisation For personnel working at a university in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, university medical centre (umc) or another research organisation, as referred to in Article 1.1, first paragraph, subparagraphs c to h of the NWO Grant Rules salary costs can be claimed for the following positions: PhD student, Engineering Doctorate, postdoc, non-scientific personnel (NWP) and for research leave of the applicant(s). Research leave can be requested for up to 5% of the grant amount. Funding for the Engineering Doctorate (EngD) position can only be applied for if funding for a PhD student or postdoc is also applied for. 3.2.1.2 Personnel of universities of applied sciences, educational institutions, TO2 institutes and other organisations It is possible to claim salary costs of personnel of universities of applied sciences, educational institutions, TO2 institutes and other organisations. 3.2.1.3 Students It is possible to engage students in the project if they are studying at a research organisation as referred to in Section 3.1. You can enter the costs of this as material costs within the project. There is no maximum on the number of students who can participate in the project. 3.2.1.4 Scientific personnel at a research organisation abroad It is possible to claim salary costs for scientific personnel from foreign research organisations. A maximum of 50% of the grant amount can be requested for personnel at research organisations abroad. N.B.: In this call, the NWO budget for personnel at research organisations abroad may not be requested for researchers based at a research organisation in China. Costs for these Chinese researchers should be budgeted to the NSFC budget. 3.2.2 Material Funding may be requested for all project-specific material costs. These costs are subject to a maximum of 25% of the grant amount allocated for personnel costs. A maximum of 50% of the grant amount for material costs can be requested for research organisations abroad. N.B.: In this call, the NWO budget for project-specific material costs may not be requested for research organisations in China. Costs for project-specific material for research organisations in China should be budgeted to the NSFC budget. 3.2.3 Investments Funding may be requested for investments in equipment, infrastructure and other research resources that have economic value or can be reused after the project ends. Salary costs of personnel who put the equipment, infrastructure and other research resources in a state of readiness can be claimed as part of the investments. The rates and conditions of Personnel apply here and the costs should be claimed as Investments. Investments can only be made at research organisations listed in section 3.1. A maximum of € 500,000 can be applied for investments. 3.2.4 Knowledge utilisation Funding can be requested for activities that promote the use of knowledge from the research,5All activities applied for under this budget module must fit within the definition of "Knowledge Transfer Activities" used by the European Commission in the Framework for State Aid for Research, Development and Innovation (OJEU 2022, C 414). in order to increase the societal impact of the research. Impact Plan: It is mandatory to include an amount for knowledge utilisation. These costs are at least 5% and maximum 20% of the grant amount. A maximum of 50% of the grant amount for knowledge utilisation can be requested for research organisations abroad. N.B.: In this call, the NWO budget for knowledge utilisation may not be requested for research organisations in China. Costs for knowledge utilisation by research organisations in China should be budgeted to the NSFC budget. 3.2.5 Project management Funding can be requested for project management that is at most 5% of the total budget requested from NWO. This budget can only be used for activities that solely support the project for which the grant is requested. The applicant must satisfactorily justify this budget. 3.2.6 Reimbursable costs NSFC budget The following costs will be reimbursed by NSFC. For more information, please refer to the NSFC call text on the website of NSFC:

− Direct Costs: equipment cost, labor cost, and operating expenses;

− Indirect Costs

3.2.7 Programmatic coherence The projects awarded under this Call should contribute to ‘Cities Amidst Climate Change: Enhancing Physical and Social Resilience in Urban Areas’. To this end, project leaders, researchers and other consortium members are expected to contribute to knowledge exchange and impact at a programme level, and to participate in and contribute to the meetings organised for that purpose. This includes a joint kick-off and mid-term workshop with all projects of the Call, as well as a final conference. This is in addition to the activities organised by the individual projects. Consortia should budget for their participation in these meetings in their application (at least € 15,000). 3.3 Preparing an application Webinar A webinar on the Call for proposals and the Impact Plan approach will be held in December 2024. In this webinar, participants will be given more information regarding the Impact Plan approach, as well as have the opportunity to ask questions. It is not mandatory to attend the webinar. More information, including the link for joining the webinar, will be made available on the Cooperation China (NSFC) – the Netherlands (NWO) programme page. Proposal Consortia must prepare a joint research proposal, which will be submitted to NWO by the Dutch main applicant and to NSFC by the Chinese main applicant. The Chinese main applicant is also required to submit a Chinese application and a collaborative agreement. Please refer to the Chinese Call for proposals on the NSFC website for more information. The steps involved in writing your joint application are:

− download the application form from the NWO web application ISAAC or from the NWO web page (on the grant page of the funding instrument concerned);

− complete the application form;

− NWO main applicant saves the application form in ISAAC as a PDF file and uploads it with any compulsory annexes;

− fill in the requested information online in ISAAC.

− NSFC main applicant fills in the requested information in Grants, and also uploads the application form and compulsory annexes in Grants.

Compulsory annexes:

− Excel budget form (Dutch side only)

− A letter of compliance with National Knowledge Security Guidelines (Dutch side only)

− A letter of commitment from the organisations of the main applicants, co-applicants, and collaboration partner(s), in which the institution or organisation confirms that they agree to the conditions required for the execution of the project and that the main- and co-applicants have the necessary appointments. This letter confirms the participation of the consortium members named in the application, as well as confirms any contributions by the organisation (in FTE and/or financially), such as the fourth year of a PhD trajectory or additional time from consortium members not covered by the NWO grant. If it concerns a contribution to a PhD or postdoc position, please confirm the numerical amount that is contributed in accordance with the UNL salary tables. The letter of commitment must be signed by the Dean of the faculty or Director of the respective organisation and be printed on the letterhead of the institution or organization (see funding page);

− declaration of support from collaboration partner(s) (see funding page);

− in case of co-funding: a declaration co-funding from the co-financing institution confirming the numeric amount that will be provided as co-financing (see funding page);

− A draft consortium agreement (see funding page);

− CVs of the main applicants, co-applicant(s) and collaboration partner(s) (each max 1 A4 page).

The appendices must be drawn up in accordance with the template provided by NWO where a template has been provided. Annexes must be uploaded in ISAAC separately from the application. The budget must be submitted in ISAAC as an Excel file. All of the other annexes, except for the budget, must be submitted as PDF files (without encryption). Any annexes other than those stated above are not permitted. You must write your joint application in English. Please note: the Chinese main applicant may need to submit additional information to NSFC. Please refer to the Chinese Call for proposals on the NSFC website for more information. Submission to NWO An application can only be submitted to NWO via the web application ISAAC. Applications that are not submitted to NWO via ISAAC will not be taken into consideration. As the Dutch main applicant, you are required to submit the application via your own personal ISAAC account. It is important to start your application in ISAAC on time:

− if you do not yet have an ISAAC account, then you should create this on time to prevent any possible registration problems;

− any new research organisations must also be added to ISAAC by NWO;

− you also need to submit other details online.

Applications submitted after the deadline will not be taken into consideration by NWO. For technical questions, please contact the ISAAC helpdesk, see contact (Chapter 6). Does a Dutch or Chinese main and/or co-applicant work at a research organisation that is not included in the ISAAC database? You can report this via relatiebeheer@nwo.nl so that the research organisation can be added. This will take several days. It is therefore important that you report this at least one week before the deadline. Applicants are expected to have informed the research organisation where they work about submitting the application and that the research organisation accepts the grant conditions of this Call for proposals. Submission to NSFC The Chinese main applicant should submit the joint application to NSFC via the Grants system. Please note: the Chinese Principal Investigator needs to submit additional information or documents to NSFC. The Chinese Principal Investigator must also submit the application on time to NSFC, using the application code G0413. Please refer to the Chinese Call for proposals on the NSFC website for more information: https://www.nsfc.gov.cn/publish/portal0/tab434/module1146/more.htm 3.4 Conditions for submission 3.4.1 Formal conditions for submission NWO and NSFC will assess your application against all the conditions set out in this Call for proposals, including the conditions listed below. Your application will only be admitted to the assessment procedure if it meets these conditions. After submitting your application, NWO requests you to be available to implement any possible administrative corrections so that you can (still) meet the conditions for submission. These conditions are:

− the main applicant, co-applicants and cooperation partners meet the conditions stated in Section 3.1;

− the joint application complies with the DORA guidelines as described in Section 4.1;

− the joint application form is, after a possible request to make additions or changes, complete and filled out according to the instructions;

− the application is submitted to NWO via the Dutch main applicant’s ISAAC account, and to NSFC by the Chinese main applicant via the Grants system;

− the joint application is received before the deadline by both funding agencies;

− the joint application is written in English;

− the application budget is drawn according to the terms of this Call for proposals (using the format made available which includes the most recent rates);

− the proposed project has a duration of a maximum of 4 years;

− all required annexes, after a possible request for additions or changes, have been completed and submitted completely and according to the instructions and in accordance with the terms of this Call for proposals.

Please note: the Chinese main applicant needs to submit additional documentation to NSFC. On the Chinese side, applications cannot be corrected, and, if they do not meet the NSFC eligibility criteria, will be declared inadmissible. If an application is declared inadmissible by NWO or by NSFC, it will also be declared inadmissible by the other funding agency and will not be admitted to the assessment procedure. 3.5 Conditions on granting The NWO Grant Rules and the Agreement on the Payment of Costs for Scientific Research are applicable to all applications. 3.5.1 Compliance with the National Knowledge Security Guidelines World-class science can benefit from international cooperation. The National Knowledge Security Guidelines (hereafter: the Guidelines) helps knowledge institutions to ensure that international cooperation can take place securely. Knowledge security concerns the undesirable transfer of sensitive knowledge and technology that compromises national security; the covert influence of state actors on education and research, which jeopardises academic freedom and social safety; and ethical issues that may arise in cooperation with countries that do not respect fundamental rights. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their project complies and will continue to comply with the Guidelines. By submitting an application, the applicant commits to the recommendations stipulated in these Guidelines. In the event of a suspected breach of the Guidelines in an application submitted to NWO for project funding, or in a project funded by NWO, NWO may ask the applicant to provide a risk assessment demonstrating that the recommendations in the Guidelines have been taken into consideration. If the applicant fails to comply with NWO’s request, or if the risk assessment is in apparent breach of the Guidelines, this may affect NWO’s grant award or decision-making process. NWO may also include further conditions in the award letter if appropriate. NWO will ask for a signed statement by the Dutch main applicant and the knowledge security coordinator of the Dutch main applicant’s research organization. The statement must declare that the organisation of the Dutch main applicant has taken into account the guidance provided by the National Knowledge Security Guidelines with regards to the proposed research project. The National Knowledge Security Guidelines can be found on the central government website at: Home | National Contact Point for Knowledge Security (loketkennisveiligheid.nl). 3.5.2 Data management The results of scientific research must be replicable, verifiable and falsifiable. In the digital age, this means that, in addition to publications, research data must also be publicly accessible insofar as this is possible. NWO and NSFC expect that research data resulting from their funded projects will be made publicly available, as much as possible, for reuse by other researchers. “As open as possible, as closed as necessary” is the applicable principle in this respect. Data management at NWO Researchers, at very least, are expected to make the data and/or non-numerical results that underlie the conclusions of the published work resulting from the project publicly available at the same time as the work’s publication. Any costs incurred for this can be included in the project budget. Researchers should explain how data emerging from the project will be dealt with based on the data management section in the proposal and the data management plan that is drawn up after funding is awarded. Data management section The data management section is part of the proposal. Researchers are asked before the start of the research to consider how the data collected will be ordered and categorised so that this can be made publicly available. Measures will often already need to be taken, both during data generation and as part of analysing the data, to make its subsequent storage and dissemination possible. If it is not possible to make all data from the project publicly available, for example due to reasons of privacy, ethics or valorisation, then the applicant is obliged to list the reasons for this in the data management section. The data management section in the proposal is not evaluated and will therefore not be weighed in the decision whether to award funding. However, both the referees and the committee can issue advice with respect to the data management section. 3.5.3 Scientific integrity In accordance with the NWO Grant Rules, the project that NWO funds must be carried out in accordance with the nationally and internationally accepted standards for scientific conduct as stated in the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (2018). By submitting the proposal, the applicant commits to this code. In the case of a (possible) violation of these standards during a project funded by NWO, the applicant should immediately inform NWO of this and should submit all relevant documents to NWO. More information about the code of conduct and the policy regarding research integrity can be found on the website: Scientific integrity | NWO. 3.5.4 Ethical statement or licence The applicant is responsible for determining whether an ethical statement or licence is needed for the realisation of the proposed project. The applicant should ensure that this is obtained from the relevant institution or ethics committee on time. The absence or presence of an ethical statement or licence at the time of the application process has no effect on the assessment of the application. If the project is awarded funding, then the grant is issued under the condition that the necessary ethical statement or licence is obtained before the latest start date for the project. The project cannot start until NWO has received a copy of the ethical statement or licence. 3.5.5 Nagoya Protocol The Nagoya Protocol ensures an honest and reasonable distribution of benefits emerging from the use of genetic resources (Access and Benefit Sharing; ABS). Researchers who make use of genetic sources from the Netherlands or abroad for their research should familiarise themselves with the Nagoya Protocol (Home – ABS Focal Point). NWO assumes that researchers will take all necessary actions with respect to the Nagoya Protocol. 3.5.6 Co-funding All applications are subject to the Co-funding Scheme. Additional definitions:

− co-funding in kind: capitalised personnel and/or material contributions from users;

− co-funding in cash is used to cover part of the total project costs and together with the grant provided by NWO constitutes the required financial resources.

Co-funding is not mandatory in this Call for proposals. However, it is possible to add co-funders in the proposal. A distinction is made between co-funding in cash (to be invoiced by the applicant), which serves to cover the budget of the project activities described in the proposal, and co-funding in kind, which may consist of personnel and/or material contributions from the organisations involved. The following principles apply to co-funding:

− NWO is the main funder of an application. Applications of which the co-funding from co-funders exceeds 49% of the total project costs will not be taken into consideration;

− co-funding in cash, is the net amount paid by a co-funder to the applicant. The applicant invoices co-funding in cash and, if applicable, VAT to the co-funder.

Not eligible as co-funding in cash are 6 Ineligible co-funding in kind is described in the Co-funding Scheme :

− grant provided by NWO;

− co-funding may not come from parties that according to this Call for proposals can apply for funding to NWO.

Co-funding declaration of participating co-funders In a co-funding declaration the co-funder expresses financial support for the project and confirms the co-funding promised. Co-funding declarations from co-funders, which are mentioned in the application, are compulsory as attachments when submitting the proposal. The co-funding declaration must be signed by an authorised signatory of the co-funder. NWO provides a compulsory format for the co-funding declaration on the funding page of this Call for proposals on the NWO website and in ISAAC. If the application is awarded, the co-funder must confirm its contribution(s) in the consortium agreement. This agreement also contains further agreements between the co-funder(s) and the applicant(s) (see Section 5.1.2). Justification co-funding in cash and in kind The ratio of co-funding (both in cash and in kind) to the grant provided by NWO in this Call for proposals, applies from submission of an application until the grant is determined. Co-funding in cash affects the grant amount provided by NWO because both NWO's contribution and co-funding in cash are used for the same project-specific costs (unlike co-funding in kind). One-off indexing due to other applicable rates after submission does not affect the ratio and co- financing requirement for the NWO contribution. For this, NWO assumes the ratio in the application budgets accepted by NWO. After determination of a project the final grant amount is settled on the basis of the final report, the financial conditions and the co-funding ratio as present in the application budget. In case of partly provided co-funding in cash (due to unforeseen circumstances, such as bankruptcy) NWO's contribution is based on the original grant award, taking into account the co-funding in cash that was provided and the applicable minimum co-funding requirement, if applicable. Co-funding in cash in excess of the co-funding requirement affects the applied ratio of co-funding to grant provided by NWO. If a project has co-funding in cash in excess of the co-funding requirement and partial in cash co-funding has been provided at determination, the NWO contribution is never more than the original contribution from the grant award. The ratio of the NWO contribution is then at most the contribution that follows from the co-funding requirement. At all times NWO must be notified of problems in expected co-funding (in cash and/or in kind). In addition to financial implications for a project, NWO may also require adequate changes to a project as a change request so that research can be continued to the best of its ability. Co-financing provided by a Chinese institution or organisation should preferably be included in the NSFC budget, and should be accounted for to NSFC. Co-financing provided by other institutions or organisations should preferably be included in the NWO budget, and accounted for to NWO. 4 Assessment procedure This chapter first describes the assessment according to the DORA principles (Section 4.1) and the course of the assessment procedure (Section 4.2). Second, it states the criteria that the assessment committee will use to assess your application (Section 4.3). The NWO Code for Dealing with Personal Interests applies to all persons and NWO and NSFC employees involved in the assessment and/or decision-making process (Code for Dealing with PersonalInterests | NWO). NWO and NSFC strive to achieve an inclusive culture where there is no place for conscious or unconscious barriers due to cultural, ethnic or religious background, gender, sexual orientation, health or age (Diversity and inclusion | NWO). NWO and NSFC encourage referees and members of an assessment committee to be actively aware of implicit associations and to try to minimise these. NWO and NSFC will provide them with information about concrete ways of improving the assessment of an application. 4.1 The San Francisco Declaration (DORA) The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) is a worldwide initiative that aims to improve the way research and researchers are assessed. DORA contains recommendations for research funders, research institutions, scientific journals and other parties. DORA aims to reduce the uncritical use of bibliometric indicators and obviate unconscious bias in the assessment of research and researchers. DORA’s overarching philosophy is that research should be evaluated on its own merits rather than on the basis of surrogate measures, such as the journal in which the research is published. When assessing the scientific track record of applicants, NWO and NSFC make use of a broad definition of scientific output products. NWO and NSFC request committee members and referees not to rely on indicators such as the Journal Impact Factor or the h-index when assessing applications. Applicants are not allowed to mention these in their applications. You are, however, allowed to list other scientific products besides publications, such as datasets, patents, software and code, et cetera. For more information on how NWO is implementing the principles of DORA, see DORA | NWO. 4.2 Procedure The application procedure consists of the following steps:

− submission of the proposal;

− admissibility of the proposal;

− peer review by referees;

− rebuttal;

− assessment by the International Advisory Committee;

− decision-making by the Executive Board of NSFC and the Executive Board of NWO.

An external, independent assessment committee (International Advisory Committee) will be assigned for this Call for proposals, consisting of representatives from research and practice with knowledge of the field. The task of the assessment committee is to assess the applications and the relevant documents that are submitted, in conjunction with each other and with regard to both the respective merits of each application and the assessment criteria outlined in this Call for proposals. 4.2.1 Submission of a proposal For the submission of the proposal, a standard form is available on the funding page of this Call for proposals on the NWO website. When you write your proposal, you must adhere to the questions stated on this form and the procedure given in the explanatory notes. You must also adhere to the conditions for the maximum number of words and pages. Your complete application form must have been received before the deadline via ISAAC and the Grants system (see Section 1.3). After this deadline, you can no longer submit a proposal. After submitting the proposal, the main applicants will receive a confirmation of receipt from their respective funders. 4.2.2 Admissibility of the proposal As soon as possible after submission of the proposal, the main applicants will hear from NWO and NSFC whether or not the proposal will be taken into consideration. NWO and NSFC will determine this based on several administrative-technical criteria (see the formal conditions for submission, Section 3.4). NWO and NSFC can only take your proposal into consideration if it meets these conditions. Please bear in mind that within two weeks after the submission deadline, NWO may approach you with any possible administrative corrections that need to be made so that your proposal can (still) meet the conditions for submission. Applicants will be given the opportunity to make the corrections within five working days. If needed, a second opportunity for corrections may be granted with a maximum response time of two working days. Please note: On the Chinese side, applications cannot be corrected, and, if they do not meet the NSFC eligibility criteria, will be declared inadmissible. If an application is declared inadmissible by NWO or by NSFC, it will also be declared inadmissible by the other funding agency and will not be admitted to the assessment procedure. 4.2.3 Peer review by referees Prior to the assessment committee considering your proposal, NWO and NSFC will request input from at least five external referees, minimal two referees by NWO and minimal three referees by NSFC. These are independent advisers who are experts in the subjects of the proposal. They will assess the proposals based on the assessment criteria outlined in the Call for proposals (Section 4.3). A maximum of three non-referees can be registered for Dutch main applicants. Applicants can register these non-referees in ISAAC when submitting the proposal. NWO will not approach these non-referees to assess the proposal as external referees. 4.2.4 Rebuttal The Dutch main applicant subsequently receives the anonymised referees’ reports via ISAAC. The consortium then has the opportunity to formulate a rebuttal. They will be given ten working days to submit the rebuttal via ISAAC. If the consortium decides to withdraw the proposal, then you should do this as quickly as possible by sending an email stating this to the Call secretariat (nsfc-nwo@nwo.nl) and withdrawing the proposal in ISAAC. The Chinese main applicant should inform the management team of NSFC if they wish to withdraw the proposal. If NWO receives your rebuttal after the deadline, then it will not be included in the rest of the procedure 4.2.5 Pre-advice assessment committee After this, your proposal, the referees’ reports and your rebuttal will be submitted for comments to several members of the assessment committee (the pre-advisers). The pre-advisers will provide a written substantive and reasoned response to the proposal. They will formulate these comments based on the substantive assessment criteria (see Section 4.3.1) and will give the proposal a numerical score per assessment criterion. For this, the NWO score table will be used (on a scale of 1 to 9, where “1” is excellent and “9” unsatisfactory). 4.2.6 Meeting of the assessment committee The committee will make its own assessment based on the available material. Although the referees' reports/ pre-advices will ‘guide’ the final assessment to a large extent, it will not be blindly accepted without question by the committee. The committee will consider and compare the arguments of the referees/pre-advisers (also amongst each other) and examine whether the rebuttal contains a well- formulated response to the critical comments from the referees' reports/ pre-advices. Furthermore, the committee, unlike the referees, will assess the quality of all the proposals and rebuttals submitted. Therefore, the committee’s assessment may differ from that of the referees. Following the discussion, the committee draws up a written recommendation addressed to the NWO Executive Board and the Board of NSFC about the quality and ranking of the proposals. This recommendation is based on the assessment criteria. The proposal must receive an overall qualification of at least “very good” to be eligible for funding. The proposal must also receive at least the qualification “very good” for each of the individual assessment criteria. For more information about the qualifications, see Applying for funding, how does it work? | NWO. If, after the discussion of the full proposals, two or more of the full proposals cannot be distinguished from each other based on their weighted total score, then this will result in an ex aequo situation (see Section 4.2.17). 4.2.7 Ex aequo NWO and NSFC understand ex aequo to be a situation in which two or more proposals, based on their weighted score, cannot be distinguished from each other. An ex aequo situation is relevant with respect to the selection or funding limit. The existence of an ex aequo situation is determined as follows. The starting point is the ranking drawn up by the assessment committee, with the final scores rounded to two decimal points. The reference score is the score of the lowest-ranked proposal within the limit of the amount of applications that can be selected or the available budget. All proposals with a score that is within 0.05 or less of the reference score will be considered. In this way, the proposals that are within a score of 0.1 of each other will be discussed again by the committee. If an ex aequo situation occurs at the limit of the amount of applications that can be selected or the available budget, and after discussion the committee concludes that there is no clear distinction in their assessment and the proposals should indeed be considered ex aequo, then the assessment committee, with the help of an (anonymous) majority vote, will determine the ranking (in accordance with Article 2.2.6, paragraph 5 of the NWO Grant Rules). If this vote also fails to provide a resolution, or if it is deemed to be undesirable to vote, then the ex aequo situation will be sent onto the decision- making bodies. 4.2.8 Decision-making Finally, the NWO Executive Board and the Board of NSFC will assess the procedure followed as well as the advice from the assessment committee. They will subsequently determine the final qualifications and make a decision over awarding or rejecting the proposals. The decision becomes definitive when the NWO Executive Board and the Board of NSFC have come to the same provisional decision. 4.2.9 Timetable Below, you will find the timetable for this Call for proposals. During the current procedure, NWO and NSFC might find it necessary to make further changes to the timetable for this Call for proposals. You will be informed about this in time. December 2024 Information webinar Tuesday 25 February 2025, before 14:00:00 CET Deadline for submission of documents to check applicants’ eligibility, if necessary (see 3.1.2) Proposals Tuesday 11 March 2025, before 14:00:00 CET Deadline proposals at NWO Wednesday 12 March 2025, at 16:00:00 CST Deadline proposals at NSFC April and May 2025 Pre-advisers consulted June 2025 Consortia have ten working days to submit a rebuttal, via the ISAAC account of the Dutch main applicant July 2025 Assessment committee meeting September 2025 Decision by the Board of NSFC and the Executive Board of NWO September 2025 NWO and NSFC inform main applicants about the decision January 2026 – March 2026 Start projects 4.3 Criteria 4.3.1 Substantive assessment criteria The applications submitted within this Call for proposals will be substantially assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

I. Quality of the research proposal

II. Potential for societal impact

III. Quality of the consortium

The criteria carry equal weight and each counts for one-third of the final assessment. The assessment criteria are further operationalised below:

I. Quality of the research proposal

– Scientific importance and innovativeness of the research questions and approach;

– Degree to which the proposal convincingly substantiates how the research relates to the thematic focus of the Call for proposals;

– Complementarity to other research programmes or (inter)national research agendas;

– Rigour of the research design: adequacy, feasibility and coherence of the research approach and methodology in view of the problem addressed;

– Interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity; the proposal incorporates the scientific disciplines necessary for addressing the problem, as well as knowledge from outside the scientific community;

– Adequacy of the budget.

II. Potential for societal impact

– Relevance for society and potential for societal breakthroughs;

– Suitable involvement of target groups, convincingly responding to their demands;

– Quality of the Impact Plan:

i. A clear problem statement, analysis and vision on the desired societal impact;

ii. A logical Impact Pathway presenting plausible pathways to societal impact;

iii. Appropriate and feasible strategic activity planning;

iv. Relevant stakeholder involvement in the development and execution of the Impact Plan.

III. Quality of the consortium

– Suitability of the consortium partners’ expertise in relation to the research project;

– Potential for long term knowledge relations;

– Quality of the inclusion and opportunities for leadership of early-career researchers;

– Quality of the Sino-Dutch collaboration, including fair and equitable partnership.

5 Obligations for grant recipients This chapter details the various obligations that – in addition to the conditions stated in Section 3.5 – apply after funds have been awarded. 5.1 Additional terms and conditions The project should start no later than 6 months after the project is awarded. If the project has not started within this timeframe, the NWO Executive Board and the Board of NSFC can decide to revoke the granting decision. Start documents The Dutch project leader and the Chinese project leader are responsible for ensuring that the necessary documents for the start of the project are submitted to their respective funding agencies, so that the project in its entirety can start on time. NWO The project can start if the following have been approved by NWO:

− A start form;

− A data management plan;

− A consortium agreement, signed by all consortium organisations;

− (if applicable) Approval of relevant ethics committees;

− At least one researcher has been appointed to the project at the time of its start

NSFC NSFC will inform the China-based main applicant of the necessary steps. The main applicant must submit all necessary documentation to NSFC in time for the project to start. Publications When publishing the results of the subsidised research, the support by NWO and NSFC should be mentioned. Annual report Annually, the project must submit a written report (in English) to inform NWO on the overall project progress, experiences and outputs. NSFC will inform the Chinese project leader of the requirements for reporting on the Chinese side. The project leaders from both countries will receive instructions and a format for the annual report in advance. Mid-term report The projects will also be evaluated by a self-assessment around the mid-term of the projects’ running time. This includes a report, a workshop organised by the consortium, and sharing and discussing the results with stakeholders from outside the project team. Consortia should include this workshop in their budget. The mid-term report will be based on the conclusions of the workshop, including a reflection on and, if required, revision of the Impact Plan, the underlying assumptions and the indicators. The project report will be evaluated and interviews or field visits may be organised to evaluate the progress and impact of the respective projects. The mid-term report of all projects within a call need to be submitted before the joint mid-term workshop and will be used as input for organising this mid-term workshop. Final report and final accountability to NWO A substantive final report should be submitted within three months after the end of the project’s runtime, detailing the research done and the achieved results, as well as a reflection on the project’s Impact Plan and its indicators. As part of this, projects will be asked to again complete a self- assessment, and hold a final workshop and discussion with stakeholders from outside the project team. The final workshop should also be taken into account in the consortium’s budget. Simultaneously, the Netherlands-based project leader and the controller/financial manager of the Dutch project leader’s institution should submit a signed financial end report, organised according to the budget lines of the approved NWO budget. The report should detail, among others, the effective duration (period) and size (FTE) of the personnel appointed to the project, and, if applicable, how eventual replacements were arranged. The realised in-cash and in-kind co-financing should also be accounted for. If the Netherlands-based project leader is not based at a knowledge institution that is subject to the education accountants protocol of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, an external audit report must also be submitted. This must be budgeted for in the project budget. NWO reserves the right to externally evaluate projects financed under this call. The project ends with the issuing of the grant settlement decision. This decision is taken after approval of the final document(s) by NWO. End report and final accountability to NSFC For final accountability to NSFC, please see the Chinese version of the Call for proposals: https://www.nsfc.gov.cn/publish/portal0/tab434/module1146/more.htm 5.1.1 Data management After a proposal has been awarded funding, the researcher should elaborate the data management section into a data management plan. For this, applicants can make use of the advice from the referees and committee. The applicant must describe in the plan whether existing data will be used, or whether new data will be collected or generated, and how this data will be made FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable. Before submission, the data management plan should be checked by a data steward or similar officer of the research organisation where the project will be realised. NWO will check the plan as quickly as possible. Approval of the data management plan by NWO is a condition for disbursement of the funding. The plan can be adjusted during the research. More information about the data management protocol of NWO can be found at: Research datamanagement | NWO. 5.1.2 Intellectual property and consortium agreement With respect to intellectual property (IP), the NWO IP policy applies. This can be found in Chapter 4 of the NWO Grant Rules. Applicants must carry out a project funded by NWO during the time that they work for the research organisation. If an applicant or a researcher funded by NWO is appointed by more than one employer, then the other employer should relinquish any possible IP rights that emerge from the project of the applicant. After a proposal has been awarded funding, the conclusion of a consortium agreement is one of the conditions for starting the project. In this agreement, arrangements are made about intellectual property and publication, knowledge transfer, confidentiality, co-financing payments, progress reports, and final reports. Uploading in ISAAC is required before the project can start. The responsibility for arranging the consortium agreement lies with the applicant. The model agreement that NWO makes available must be used and can be found on the funding page of this Call for proposals. This model agreement has been drawn up in accordance with the NWO Grant Rules. 5.1.3 Socially responsible licensing The knowledge that emerges from the project could be suitable for use in society. When agreements about licensing and/or the transfer of research results developed under this Call for proposals are made, due consideration should be given to the ten principles for socially responsible licensing, as stated in the NFU factsheet “Ten principles for Socially Responsible Licensing | NFU”. 5.1.4 Open Access NWO and NSFC are committed to making the results of the research it funds openly accessible via the internet (Open Access). Scientific publications arising from projects awarded on the basis of this Call for proposals must therefore be made available in Open Access form in accordance with the Open Access Policy. Scientific articles Scientific articles must be made available in Open Access form immediately at the time of publication (without embargo) via one of the following routes:

− publication in a fully Open Access journal or platform registered in the DOAJ;

− publication in a subscription journal and the immediate deposition of at least the author accepted manuscript of the article in an Open Access repository registered in Open DOAR;

− publication in a journal for which a transformative Open Access agreement exists between UNL and a publisher. For further information, see Home | Open access.

Books Different requirements apply to scholarly books, book chapters and edited collections. See the Open Access Policy Framework at Open Science | NWO. CC BY licence To ensure the widest possible dissemination of publications, at least a Creative Commons (CC BY) licence must be applied. Alternatively – in case of substantial interest – the author may request to publish under a CC BY-ND licence. For books, book chapters and collected volumes, all CC BY licence options are allowed. Costs Costs for publication in fully Open Access journals can be budgeted in the application using the budget module for “material costs”. Costs for publications in hybrid journals are not eligible for reimbursement by NWO. For Open Access books, a separate NWO Open Access Books Fund is available. For more detailed information about NWO’s Open Access policy, see Open Science | NWO. 6 Contact and other information 6.1 Contact 6.1.1 Specific questions For specific questions about this Call for proposals, please contact: NWO Ms Colinda DE KORTE +31 (0)70 349 40 00 nsfc-nwo@nwo.nl NSFC Mr XU Jin +86 10 62325351 xujin@nsfc.gov.cn 6.1.2 Technical questions about the web application ISAAC For technical questions about the use of ISAAC, please contact the ISAAC helpdesk. Please read the manual first before consulting the helpdesk. The ISAAC helpdesk can be contacted from Monday to Friday between 10:00 and 17:00 hours on +31 (0)70 34 40 600. However, you can also submit your question by email to isaac.helpdesk@nwo.nl. You will then receive an answer within two working days. 6.2 Other information NWO processes data from applicants received in the context of this Call for proposals in accordance with the NWO Privacy Statement, Privacy Statement | NWO. NWO might approach applicants for an evaluation of the procedure and/or research programme. 7 Annexes 7.1 Budget modules and rates 7.1.1 Personnel PhD student A PhD student is appointed for 48 months for 1.0 FTE at a university in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, umc or research organisation as referred to in Article 1.1 of the NWO Grant Rules. The equivalent of 48 full-time months, e.g. a 60-month appointment for 0.8 FTE, is also possible. It is possible to apply for a shorter appointment period in special situations. This must be properly justified. This will be assessed by the assessment committee. If a project lasts less than 48 months, it is necessary for the dean or institute director to provide a written commitment to fund the remaining part of the PhD trajectory. It is not possible to apply for funding for a PhD student who started the project to be funded before the grant is awarded. Please use the rates of a PhD student in the salary tables of UNL and NFU. A one-off personal bench fee of € 5,000 is available for each PhD student to stimulate the scientific career. Engineering Doctorate degree (EngD) An Engineering Doctorate (EngD) is appointed for a maximum of 24 months for 1.0 FTE. The EngD is employed by the applying research organisation and may, during the research, perform work at an industrial partner for a fixed period of time. Funding for the appointment of an EngD may only be requested for if funding for a PhD student or postdoc is also applied for. It is not possible to apply for funding for an EngD who started the project to be funded before grant is awarded. Use the rates of a PhD student in the salary tables of UNL and NFU. A one-off personal benchfee of € 5,000 is available for each EngD to stimulate the scientific career. Postdoc A postdoc is appointed to a university in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, umc or research organisation as listed in Section 3.1. Use the rates of a senior academic employee in the salary tables of UNL, and the rates of a postdoc at an umc in the salary tables of NFU. It is not possible to apply for funding for a postdoc who started the project to be funded before the grant is awarded. Only a postdoc position with an appointment of at least 12 months for 0.5 fte qualifies as an appointment for which a one-off personal benchfee of € 5,000 is available to boost the scientific career. Non-scientific personnel Funding may be requested for non-scientific personnel (NWP) needed to execute the project. These may include, for example, programmers, technical assistants, analysts or project leaders. The use of NWP must be described in the proposal. The duration of the appointment cannot be longer than the duration of the project funded by NWO. Depending on the job level, a choice is made from the UNL or NFU salary tables for NWP-mbo, NWP- hbo and NWP-academic. No one-off personal benchfee is available for NWP. Research leave This budget module allows funding to be applied for the costs of research leave for the main and/or co-applicant(s). This allows the relevant applicant's employer to cover the costs to releave them from teaching, supervisory, administrative or management duties (not research duties). The applicant may only use the time releaved by this research leave for work on the project. The proposal must describe what project-related work the applicant(s) will perform during the exempted time. NWO will fund the research leave on the basis of the salary rates of a senior academic employee (UNL) or postdoc (NFU) applicable at the time of the decision date. Personnel of universities of applied sciences, TO2 institutes, educational institutions and other (research) organisations Funding may be requested for personnel of universities of applied sciences, TO2 institutes, other educational institutions and other (research) organisations. The rates are determined using the Government Tariff Manual (HOT), Table 2 average total salary cost per salary scale, column 'Hourly rate productive hours, excluding VAT'. The salary scale of the requested position determines the rate from the HOT table. For organisations that do not use the CAO of the Government of the Netherlands or similar (such as the CAOs of hbo, mbo, secondary education and local authorities), the following salary scales from the HOT apply: Project assistant: scale 6. Junior (researcher): scale 10. Medior (researcher): scale 12. Senior (researcher): scale 13. Director: scale 16. Students Students may be engaged in research. If the students contribute as part of their curriculum, the rate according to the usual internship fee of the university or universities of applied sciences applies. If students contribute as a secondary job alongside their studies as student assistants, the rate according to HOT table 2 scale 1 applies. Scientific personnel at a research organisation abroad Funding may be requested for personnel costs of a foreign research organisation contributing to the project. The foreign research organisation must meet the definition of research organisation in Article 5.1(p) of the NWO Grant Rules. Substantiate convincingly how the researcher of the foreign research organisation contributes specific expertise to the project which is not available in the Netherlands at the level required for the project. The assessment committee assesses this substantiation as part of the criterion I. Quality of the research proposal. This substantiation is not necessary when NWO has concluded a bilateral agreement on Money Follows Cooperation with the national research financier of the country where the foreign research organisation is located. The NWO website lists the research funders with which NWO has such an agreement. NWO does not award grants to co-applicants abroad who are subject to applicable sanction legislation. The main applicant receives the grant and is responsible for transferring grant funds to the co- applicant's foreign research organisation and for accounting for the use of the foreign part of the grant. The exchange rate risk lies with the applicant. Benefits or expenses due to exchange rates are not eligible. Use UNL rates adjusted for country correction coefficients. These rates are maximums. No one-off personal benchfee is available. If more than € 125,000 per organisation is requested within this budget module, an audit certificate is required with the final financial statement. N.B.: In this call, the NWO budget for personnel at research organisations abroad may not be requested for researchers based at a research organisation in China. Costs for these Chinese researchers should be budgeted to the NSFC budget. 7.1.2 Material Funding may be requested for all project-specific costs relating to, among others, consumables, purchase of services, materials, small instruments, access to (inter)national facilities, software and research resources that have no economic value after use. Travel and accommodation costs (national and international) for all people working on the project incl. foreign guest researchers, costs for the organisation of (international) workshops and symposia, costs for data management, publications, and costs in the context of citizen science also fall under this module. Travel expenses (national and international) will only be reimbursed on the basis of second class/economy class fares. For publications, the provisions in Section 4.5 Open access apply. Costs for an audit statement can only be claimed for organisations that are not subject to OCW's education audit protocol for a maximum of € 5,000 per audit statement. It is not permitted to include costs for:

− organisational infrastructure and overhead, including a fully functioning workplace, accommodation, office automation, personnel administration, commuting expenses, training, facilities, HR advice and business care, documentary information provision and home office allowance;

− the use and maintenance of in-house developed scientific infrastructure;

− regular teaching activities;

N.B.: In this call, the NWO budget for project-specific material costs may not be requested for research organisations in China. Costs for project-specific material at Chinese research organisations should be budgeted to the NSFC budget. 7.1.3 Investments Funding may be requested for any project-specific resources for research or costs related to construction or further development of scientific infrastructure that retain economic value or can be reused after project completion. The beneficiary acquires ownership of these research resources on completion of the project. In case the beneficiary achieves profits from the beneficial ownership of the research funds, these profits must be invested in primary activities of the beneficiary as referred to in Article 3.1.4, paragraph 2 of the NWO Grant Rules. This includes the purchase of equipment with residual value for the performance of research and investments in the construction or (further) development of scientific infrastructure. Personnel costs as part of the investment can be recorded as personnel costs. Investment costs should be adequately specified and justified in the proposal. Eligible costs are:

− costs for investments in scientific equipment;

− costs for investments in datasets;

− salary costs for personnel with essential technical expertise necessary for the development or construction of an investment.

Ineligible are:

− costs for infrastructural facilities that can be considered part of the usual infrastructure full functioning workplace, accommodation, office automation, personnel administration, travel expenses commuting, training, facilities management, HR advice and business care, documentary information provision, home working allowance);

− data collections and any related software and bibliographies already available in other ways;

− other personnel costs, including personnel costs for operating and conducting research with the facility;

− costs for maintenance and use of equipment on a project. Costs for the use of equipment on a project can be requested through the material budget.

7.1.4 Knowledge utilisation The budget requested should be adequately specified in the proposal. To determine the rates, use the provisions of Personnel and Material. Impact Plan approach It is obligatory to make use of this module when preparing a proposal and use a minimum of 5%, and a maximum of 20% of the grant amount. Within this module, the project budget includes at least costs for the following activities:

− Specific activities to promote knowledge utilisation to (intermediary) parties not funded in the project, such as knowledge platforms. These activities include joint learning activities, training and communication activities;

− Involving stakeholders: activities organised by the consortium aimed at involving stakeholders, such as consultation workshops, expert meetings, round table meetings, etc.;

− Communication: activities organised by the consortium such as (international) learning events,

− development of videos, blogs, newsletters and other media expressions. Hiring communication expertise may also fall under this;

− Skills development: Activities aimed at developing skills beyond the levels of individual students, PhDs or postdocs, such as developing courses for stakeholders or master's students;

− Monitoring and evaluation moments in which knowledge utilisation is the subject of discussion: such as, for example, mid-term evaluations and committee meetings.

N.B.: In this call, the NWO budget for knowledge utilisation may not be requested for research organisations in China. Costs for knowledge utilisation by Chinese research organisations should be budgeted to the NSFC budget. 7.1.5 Project management The Project management module offers the opportunity to request a project management post up to a maximum of 5% of the total budget requested from NWO. The main applicant must adequately justify this post. Project management includes the following: optimising the organisational structure of the consortium, supporting the consortium and the main applicant, safeguarding the coherence, progress and unity of the project, and coordinating between the sub-projects within the project. These tasks may also be carried out by external parties if they are not available within the main applicant’s knowledge institution. Knowledge institutions should take account of public procurement rules in the tender procedure for selecting a third party and, where appropriate, follow a European procurement procedure. The activities of main applicants and co-applicants themselves in relation to the project(management) may not be funded under this budget module. The budget to be requested for project management can consist of material or implementation costs and personnel costs. For personnel costs, a maximum rate of € 121 per hour can be claimed. The hourly rate of personnel to be appointed must be based on a cost-covering rate and is calculated on the basis of the standard productive number of hours used by the organisation. The cost-covering rate includes:

− (average) gross salary corresponding to the position of the employee who will contribute to the project (based on the collective labour agreement grade of the employee concerned);

− holiday allowance and 13th month (if applicable in the relevant collective labour agreement) in proportion to the FTE deployed;

− social security charges;

− pension costs;

− overheads.

Project management tasks may be carried out by external parties, but the part of (commercial) hourly rates that exceeds the rates stated is not eligible for funding and therefore cannot be included in the budget. N.B.: In this call, the NWO budget for Project management may not be requested for research organisations in China. Costs for Project management by Chinese research organisations should be budgeted to the NSFC budget. 7.2 Indexing The rate at the time of the decision date applies. NWO will, if necessary, apply a one-off indexation of personnel costs when awarding the grant. The date on which the rates take effect is used for this purpose. If the date of publication of the fees is later than the effective date, the date of publication is used. The tariffs of the Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) usually take effect on 1 July, of the Dutch Federation of University Medical Centres (NFU) on 1 August and of the Government Tariffs Manual (HOT) on 1 January. The on-off indexation does not affect the grant ceiling and the maximum grant amount to be applied for. The grant ceiling and maximum requestable grant amount remain unchanged during the assessment procedure. If awarded, one-off indexation will be applied to the grant amount. If co-funding is required or permitted, the one-off indexation does not affect the requirements for own contributions and co-funding, nor the IP rights that may result from the co-funding. 7.3 Additional annexes 7.3.1 Format letter National Knowledge Security Guidelines Template letter National Knowledge Security Guidelines Note: this letter should be signed by the knowledge security coordinator of the Dutch main applicant’s research institution. If the Dutch main applicant’s research institution does not have a knowledge security coordinator, the letter should be signed by the Dean of the faculty/director of organisation. The letter should be printed on the stationery of the organisation of the main applicant on the Dutch side. [Address main applicant] Concerns: Letter National Knowledge Security Guidelines [Location], [Date] Dear......., Through this letter, I confirm that <<name organisation>> has taken into account the guidance provided by the National Knowledge Security Guidelines with regards to the proposed research project submitted to the Call for proposals on ‘Cities Amidst Climate Change: Enhancing Physical and Social Resilience in Urban Areas’. Yours sincerely, [Signed by the main applicant of the organisation on the Dutch side and the knowledge security coordinator] ......................................... [Signature] ......................................... [Name + Position] ......................................... [Signature] ......................................... [Name + Position] 7.3.2 Impact Pathway Please note the lay-out of the diagram is indicative; variations are allowed, as long as all boxes of the diagram remain included. We recommend to limit the diagram to a maximum of one page, for it to present only key elements. If absolutely needed the length could be extended to two pages maximum. Impact pathway indicators Formulate SMART indicators for the output and outcomes (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-related). Indicators illustrate how success will be recognised at each step in the pathway to impact. It enables verifying if the research project is ‘on track’ and where it can improve, it helps to steer and manage the research program. Indicators, especially of outcomes, can also be adjusted or made more specific during the execution of the project, since they are also part of the reflective approach (the impact pathway, including indicators, are not set in stone). No indicators need to be formulated at the Impact level. Output Indicator Output 1 Output 2 Output 3 Output 4 Output 5 Output ... Outcome Indicator Outcome 1 Outcome 2 Outcome 3 Outcome 4 Outcome 5 Outcome ...