WBSO applications

Research and Development Promotion Act (WBSO)

Applying for the WBSO starts with determining which planned activities qualify as Research & Development (R&D). Next, you work this out into clear R&D projects, including a technical substantiation and a realistic estimate of hours (and, where relevant, costs and expenses). You submit the application digitally with RVO; after assessment, you receive a decision. During its term, you need to keep an R&D administration so you can substantiate your work.

Important to know

You apply for the WBSO in advance, for activities you plan to carry out in a future period . This period always runs over full calendar months. You can submit a maximum of four applications per year. A continuous period covering multiple months must be at least three months. As a general rule, your application must reach RVO no later than one calendar month before the starting month (e.g. a start date of 1 April means the application must be submitted by 31 March at the latest).

How How does it work?

Step 1: Determine whether your activities qualify as R&D

The basis of every WBSO application is the question: do the activities qualify as Research & Development (R&D)? This is the case if you are working on technical development with concrete technical bottlenecks or uncertainties, and you have a systematic approach to arrive at something technically new or improved. This could, for example, be a product, process, or piece of software.

Step 2: Translate this into clear projects

You then translate the activities into one or more clearly defined R&D projects. For each project, you record what you want to achieve technically and what is still uncertain or challenging. You also describe which development steps you expect to take to arrive at a solution. In practice, this part often determines whether an application is ‘strong’ and easy to assess: the more concrete and technical your project description, the better RVO can see exactly what is being developed and why it qualifies as R&D.

Step 3: Make a realistic estimate (hours and, where relevant, costs/expenses)

Based on your project setup, you make an estimate of the R&D hours you expect to spend during the requested period. If you also include costs and expenses, you estimate these for the same period. The aim is for the estimate to align with your planning and with the development steps you have described.

Step 4: Submit the application digitally with RVO

You submit the application digitally with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). RVO assesses the application and may ask for clarification or additional information during the assessment. Once the assessment is complete, you receive a decision stating how many R&D hours (and, where applicable, which amounts) have been granted.

Step 5: Start your administration after submission (and keep it up to date)

After the grant, it is important that you can demonstrate, throughout the term, that the granted R&D hours were actually spent on R&D. You do this with an R&D administration: in essence, this comes down to time registration and project documentation that shows what was done technically and why it fits within the application. RVO can ask for further substantiation afterwards or carry out an audit. That is why it is wise to keep the administration from the start of the period, rather than only afterwards.

Our WBSO expertise areas

Agri & Food

Automotive

Data science & AI

High tech systems & Materials

Life science & Chemistry

Software

When do you submit a new application?

Many organisations apply more than once a year. This is especially useful when new projects arise, the work shifts, or the expected hours and costs/expenses change for an upcoming period. By reapplying periodically, the WBSO keeps better pace with reality.

How Real1ze helps with the WBSO application

Real1ze guides you through the entire WBSO process, aiming for both a substantively strong application and a practical setup that keeps the benefit demonstrable and manageable. We start with an intake and quick scan of your R&D activities to determine which projects are promising and how best to define them. In doing so, we translate the technology into a clear R&D substantiation: what is the intended result, where do the technical uncertainties lie, and what development route is realistic.

Based on this scope, we draw up the application and take care of the submission to RVO. We monitor the quality of the project descriptions and the alignment between content, planning, and the hours/costs estimate, so that the application is consistent and well defensible. During the assessment, we act as your point of contact towards RVO and support any questions or requests for clarification, including sharpening the substantiation where needed.

After receiving the decision, Real1ze helps you apply the WBSO correctly in practice. We support you in setting up or refining your R&D administration (such as time registration and project documentation) and make sure the accountability is workable for your team. Throughout the period, we remain available for technical sparring, changes to projects, or follow-up applications, so that the WBSO keeps pace with the reality of your development and the scheme is used correctly.

Need more information about the WBSO?

Would you like to discuss the possibilities for a potential WBSO process? Or would you like a no-obligation second opinion on your current WBSO application? Contact our specialist Johan!

+31 6 52745172

johandelepper@real1ze.nl

Johan de Lepper

Specialist WBSO