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Ronde 3 | Ontwerpkracht & Transities

What knowledge and methods should we use to strengthen design capabilities in order to develop transition-driven, scalable, innovative products and services with a technological component?

This call for proposals focuses on projects that conduct design-based research, with a central focus on scaling up. The research aims to develop knowledge to create more scalable products and services that support transitions. Whether it involves innovative products or services in hospital care, the energy sector, or agriculture, there is no shortage of transition-driven innovations that have successfully completed pilot phases. But despite the large number of innovations that demonstrate they work in their specific context and have the potential to make an impact, relatively few are actually successfully implemented and scaled up. In other words: innovations that go “beyond the pilot.”

Through this call for proposals, The Power of Design & Transitions offers project teams consisting of entrepreneurs, design professionals, and researchers the opportunity to carry out a design-based research project. A total of €3,250,000 in funding is available under this call. A maximum of five projects will be awarded. Each project can receive a maximum grant of €650,000. Mandatory private co-financing of at least 20% is required. Projects will start between June and December 2027.

Project Team & Roles

A project team must include at least the following:

  • an academic institution (community college, university, or TO2),
  • a private stakeholder responsible for a scaling-up issue,
  • three design professionals

These team members act as equal partners in the design and implementation of the research. Academic institutions serve as the lead coordinator.

PROCESS

The call for proposals for The Power of Design & Transitions #3 consists of three phases. In the first phase, project teams submit a preliminary application. In phase 2, they submit a project idea. After various assessments, a selection is made of five high-quality project ideas that complement one another. In phase 3, this selection develops their project ideas into a complete project plan, under the guidance of CLICKNL, after which a quality assessment and board decision take place.

Important dates

September 18, 2026: Submit preliminary application
October 30, 2026: Submit project idea
May 14, 2027: Submit project plans and budgets

Documents

The templates below must be used for pre-registration, submitting project ideas, and submitting project plans. Once downloaded, completed templates can be sent to ontwerpkracht@clicknl.nl. Please observe the limits specified in the templates.

Phase 1 Preliminary Application Submission:

  • Preliminary Application Submission Form

Phase 2 Project Idea Submission

  • Project Idea Form
  • Letter of Intent Form

Phase 3 Submission of project plan and budget

  • Project plan template
  • Project budget template
  • Collaboration agreement template
  • Declaration of No Company in Difficulty
  1. underlying decision tree
  2. Chamber of Commerce extract
  • SME declaration

In addition, the appendix “Terms and Conditions and Explanatory Notes O&T III” is also important.

  • I am part of a project team.

    Make use of the Square: the central hub for project teams. Here you will find everything you need: terms and conditions, templates, news, and more.

    Go to the square
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  • Leefomgeving van Morgen/ Living Lab 040-Foto burgerdenktank_2
    Round #1 & #2

    PROJECTS

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WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE?

For consultation, further explanation of the conditions, help finding partners or to have a project idea, project plan and/or budget checked prior to submission (preliminary assessment), you can email ontwerpkracht@clicknl.nl.

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