In 2022, the universities signed a ‘Bestuursakkoord’ with the Minister of Education, Culture and Science. This included a structural investment of €300 million in starter and incentive grants for researchers. Since 2022, all universities have received these grants structurally and in accordance with the ‘Bestuursakkoord’. Since then, universities have demonstrably used these resources to strengthen their ambitions in research and scientific innovation. At the Ministry's insistence, universities factored this contribution into their budget. In 2024, the Minister of Education, Culture and Science decided to cut €215 million and designate the remaining €85 million (originally intended for incentive grants) as "workload & talent policy." Universities received the final decision on this matter in the summer of 2025.
All universities object to this budget cut. Work is currently underway to flesh out the details of the objection. This will outline the universities' arguments against the decision to cut starter and incentive grants. The objection focuses on the value of a ‘bestuursakkoord’. It also considers the losses incurred by each institution. The objection must be submitted to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science by December 8, 2025.
The universities have also filed a formal objection to the Higher Education Finance Regulations to protect their rights as much as possible. By filing this objection, they retain the right to object to the allocation of funds stipulated in the regulations.
After several steps, the matter will be taken to the administrative court, and ultimately, an appeal to the Council of State is also possible. It's difficult to predict exactly how long this will take, but it will certainly last until sometime in 2026.
We will keep you informed about this process via the news page on the website.