The Digital Government Innovation Budget supports public-sector organisations seeking to accelerate digital transformation. Through this fund, the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) supports projects that improve digital public services and promote smarter use of technology. The next application window opens in March 2027.
This page explains who the fund is for, the assessment criteria, and how the application process works, helping teams prepare and submit a strong project proposal.
Innovating together
The Innovation Budget provides vital support to driven civil servants with forward-thinking ideas. It allows them to experiment and develop new initiatives, while encouraging them to build new networks across different sectors. Selected projects receive not only financial backing but also publicity and expert policy advice from the Ministry of BZK.
Criteria
To qualify for funding, projects must meet specific criteria. Applicants must collaborate with other public sector bodies or external partners to deliver seamless, integrated services. Furthermore, projects must be delivered as open-source software, and the judging panel will place significant weight on the solution’s user-centricity.
Selection process
The selection process for the 2027 Innovation Budget involves several key stages. Registration opens on 1 March 2027, with a submission deadline of 31 March at midnight. If over 100 applications are received, a pre-selection is made based solely on each project’s extended summary. Pre-selection results are announced in late April or early May, with the jury reviewing proposals in May, potentially inviting applicants to pitch. The final selected proposals are revealed in June. Approved projects begin on 1 September 2027, run until August 2028, and are evaluated in summer 2028. For a full description of the selection process in Dutch, see ‘Selectieproces’ on Digitale Overheid.
Target audience & eligibility
The Innovation Budget is open to all Dutch public authorities (Dutch), including provinces, local municipalities, regional water authorities, government ministries, and executive agencies. The fund supports projects at the start-up or scale-up stage. Outcomes vary widely, from a proof of concept to scaling up a successful pilot. Innovation need not be limited to cutting-edge technology; organisational change or the application of existing technology in a new context can also qualify. Crucially, the initiative must visibly improve the experience of digital government services for citizens and businesses. Successful projects must be widely adoptable, thereby contributing to the wider evolution of Dutch digital government and the Generic Digital Infrastructure (GDI).
The Netherlands’ Digitalisation Strategy (NDS)
The Dutch Minister for the Digital Economy and Sovereignty, Willemijn Aerdts, is leading the Netherlands’ Digitalisation Strategy (NDS). The strategy sets out several core priorities, and the selection panel will give extra weight to proposals that align with these goals.
Our shared ambitions:
- Delivering high-quality public services for citizens and businesses.
- Strengthening the government’s digital resilience and digital autonomy.
Strengthening public services through:
- Political-administrative leadership and more efficient collaboration as a single, joined-up government.
- Digital proficiency and professional expertise.
