With these new awards, NWO honours inspiring researchers working on themes of great importance to science. The aim is to highlight groundbreaking initiatives and the individuals or teams behind them who contribute to remarkable developments in science – from scientific culture to the relationship between research and society. By establishing four awards covering the themes of a healthy research culture, societal impact, collaboration and open science, NWO demonstrates its commitment to these developments and connects scientists with one another and with society by putting their achievements in the spotlight.
The awards
The awards support or strengthen initiatives that can increase the impact of research. The awards deliberately focus not only on individuals, but also on research groups, as many outstanding achievements are the result of collaborative efforts.
NWO presents the following awards:
The Agora Award for initiatives that have implemented collaboration in a surprising and distinctive way and have thereby achieved demonstrable results.
The Arete Award for a healthy research culture. This award is intended for initiatives or individuals who contribute to or exemplify a healthy research culture.
With the Atlas Award for societal impact, NWO aims to highlight initiatives that have forged an effective connection with society through the application of knowledge and/or science communication.
Finally, the UKB Leo Waaijers Open Science Award is, finally, for initiatives that have made a lasting contribution to the open science movement.
Who can nominate someone?
Anyone may submit a nomination. Researchers and research teams may nominate themselves and each other. However, support staff, societal partners, and people working outside academia may also nominate an initiative or individual. Have a potential winner in mind? For the nomination procedure and criteria, visit nwo.nl/nwo-awards.
The deadline for nominations for the Agora Award, the Arete Award and the Atlas Award is 10 September 2026. The deadline for the UKB Leo Waaijers Open Science Award has now passed.
"Science has initiatives that we do not highlight enough. With the NWO Awards, we want to change that. We recognise the people and teams who make science more open, more collaborative and more socially relevant – and we invite everyone to put forward exceptional initiatives."
Marcel Levi, President of the NWO Executive Board
The NWO Awards complement and partially replace existing individual prizes, which NWO will now present across the entire scientific spectrum. This policy does not apply to the Spinoza and Stevin Prizes. These retain their own specific status and focus on scientific breakthroughs and the application of world-class research.
