Criteria

The proposal must be submitted by at least 2 government organisations, with one serving as the lead organisation. The Innovation Budget is designed to encourage collaboration and reduce duplication across government.

Small projects have total project costs of up to €200,000. Applicants must provide at least 25% co-funding.

Large projects have total project costs exceeding €200,000. Applicants must provide at least 40% co-funding.

The proposal contributes to the improvement of digital public services for citizens and entrepreneurs.

The project duration must not exceed 12 months from the date the funding is awarded.

All submitted proposals must include a publishable summary.

• The selected projects will be announced on this website.
• A final project report must be submitted.
• Lessons learned will be published openly.

What is expected will depend on the stage of the proposed project. For example, if a proposal focuses on conducting a thorough analysis, an initial assessment of user needs will suffice. Proposals that are closer to implementation are expected to provide more comprehensive evidence.

Because of the innovative and exploratory nature of the Innovation Budget, some projects may be required to include a go/no-go decision point.

In making the final selection, the jury will also consider the overall balance of the portfolio of successful proposals. This includes:

• A balanced distribution across different types of organisation and regions.
• A balanced spread of projects at different stages of development, for example, scaling up proven proofs of concept (PoCs), developing or testing PoCs, or carrying out initial experiments or research.
• The balance between project costs and expected outcomes.

The proposal is innovative and delivers clear public value.

• It applies solutions such as processes, methods or technologies in a way that is significantly different from, or demonstrably better than, existing approaches to the challenge described.
• It demonstrates clear societal value.

The proposal demonstrates a user-centred approach. See the User Needs First design principles for examples.

• User needs and user experience are clearly embedded in the project approach.
• Users are involved at an early stage of the project to identify and validate those needs.
• The proposal takes digital inclusion into account, ensuring that no one is excluded. It demonstrates how everyone can participate in the digital age.

Life events

It is encouraged to submit projects that aim to improve service provision around life events. If the project relates to a life event, the following conditions apply:

• The applicants must demonstrably have knowledge of the life event(s) in which citizens/entrepreneurs face the described problem.
• At least 2 parties from the chain involved in the life event, of which the innovative project is a part, must be involved in the project.
• A goal must be described in line with the interests of integrated service provision for citizens/entrepreneurs.

Applicants are ready to start around summer 2026.

• The applicants have a strong understanding of the problem described and the people (users) it affects. They can clearly demonstrate the value and relevance of the proposal in addressing the problem and the users. Where available, the proposal includes quantitative or qualitative information about the need.
• The applicants are aware of the life event(s) in which users encounter the described problem, the parties involved, and their relationships.
• The applicants know what the (existing) alternatives are and why they are insufficient. They understand past approaches and why these no longer suffice.
• The applicants are willing and able to implement the proposal. They have a well-substantiated plan for doing so, including considerations such as: people, resources, support from all relevant stakeholders (within and outside the applying organisations), and access to data.

The results can be applied elsewhere.

• The intended outcomes have the potential to add value for organisations across the Netherlands.
• The applicants enable others to reuse their results, for example by making code, data, and lessons learned publicly available and by actively offering them. Ideally, ownership of the results lies with the government, or the government has the right to use and access the data and source code and to share them freely within the government, or preferably, publicly.
• Delivered products are open source unless there is a well-justified reason not to be.

The project has a future beyond the innovation budget if it proves successful.

• The applicants have considered the future potential outcomes, including aspects such as scalability, implementation, management, structural funding, and staffing.