Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development

The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) is a national organisation that promotes quality and innovation in the field of health research and health care, initiating and fostering new developments. ZonMw also actively promotes knowledge transfer and implementation, ensuring knowledge is exchanged between all relevant stakeholders (health researchers, health professionals, patients/consumers and the general public). This in turn facilitates the structured implementation of newly developed knowledge in the health care system and guarantees emerging health care issues a place on the research agenda. In 2006 ZonMw spent €180 million on medical research, with €14 million on stem cell research.

The question ZonMw faces is how to improve disease prevention and health care. One thing is clear: you need a lot of knowledge, and therefore a lot of research. And it is important that people actually use that knowledge. With this in mind, ZonMw funds and promotes health research, development and implementation.

ZonMw contributes to the initiation and implementation policy cycle and is responsible for distributing a proportion of the resources available for health research and development. Much of ZonMw’s work involves the design, execution and evaluation of national programmes, which are either open or restricted.

ZonMw ensures the quality and relevance of the activities it supports by having independent experts assess and evaluate proposals (peer review). ZonMw’s primary concern is to establish and monitor standards and instruments for various types of research and development and their assessment.

Stem Cell Budget

Stem Cell Strategy

·         Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences is working on a position paper on research on regenerative medicine in The Netherlands, which is expected in 2009.

Key Stem Cell Centres and Investments

Stem Cells in Development and Disease – SCDD (2004-2009)

This initiative integrates the knowledge infrastructure of 11 internationally competitive Dutch research laboratories specializing in developmental, stem cell and molecular biology, together with 4 biotechnology companies, to advance biomedical technology and applications in human health and disease. Budget € 4 million for a period of 4 years. www.stemcells.nl

Dutch Program for Tissue Engineering – DPTE (2004-2010)

This is a consortium of research groups from almost all Dutch universities and academic hospitals, joined by pioneering companies and supporting organizations. The objective is to build a strong, coordinated knowledge infrastructure that integrates new knowledge, stimulates collaborations and facilitates utilization of tissue engineered products. Approximately one quarter of the € 55 million budget for 6 years is dedicated to stem cell research, which is one of the key platform technologies. www.dpte.org

BioMedical Materials program – BMM (2007-2012)

BMM is a public-private partnership with a research budget of € 90 million , which aims to further strengthen the world-leading position of the Netherlands in the field of biomedical materials and applications. BMM is an initiative of leading Dutch industrial players, SMEs, a charity foundation, academia, and a research institute. Goal is to develop biomedical materials that fulfill the demand for better medical treatment. www.biomedicalmaterialsprogram.nl
Leiden University Medical Center; Theme Regenerative Medicine (www.lumc.nl)       

Dutch Forum for Regenerative Medicine – DutchFoRM (from 2006)

DutchFoRM is a coordinating initiative to stimulate and develop regenerative medicine as scientific discipline and technology. It is specifically meant to exploit medical and technological sciences for regenerative medicine applications in health care and R&D-based biomedical industries. The founding fathers are Dutch University Medical Centers, Technical Universities, Dutch based industries, and charity funds. www.dutchform.org

Recent Research Achievements

 Links

Linked files