Referees
What does ZonMw do?
ZonMw uses knowledge to realise a good health for everybody. We connect people and organisations for working on relevant societal and scientific issues that influence health, care and well-being. We programme and fund health research and innovation in care, encourage the use of the knowledge developed and define the areas where knowledge is needed.
ZonMw stimulates research and innovation in health, healthcare and well-being through targeted grant programmes. Applicants can submit their grant application if it matches one of the ongoing calls.
More information: About ZonMw.
Assessment of grant applications
All grant applications received by ZonMw are assessed on their relevance and quality. For the quality assessments, we rely on referees: external, independent experts.
Through our quality criteria, we set requirements for various aspects of the applications we receive, including clarity, scope and the originality of the research question or objective. We also assess the plan of action, feasibility and the project team or researcher.
The number of referees assigned to assess an application depends on the grant sum. Referees must have relevant expertise and may not be involved in the applications in any way. They never assess more than a few applications.
Right of reply
We anonymise the referees’ quality assessments and forward them to the applicants, who are then invited to submit a response in writing (right of reply). In their response, applicants can reply to the referees’ queries and respond to any criticisms.
To learn more about the assessment procedure, consult the following resources:
- Our Assessment page
- Our Applying for funding in 10 steps page
- The procedure brochure for referees (in Dutch)
Confidentiality
Our procedures require strict confidentiality throughout the entire assessment process. This means that referees’ assessments are always anonymised, and that all applications must be handled in the strictest of confidence.
Generative AI
Documents provided for review are confidential and thus may not be used as input for generative models. Furthermore, generative models may not be used in any manner when writing the review.
Independence
If you agree to assess a grant application, ZonMw assumes that you are able to do so independently. Our Code for Dealing with Personal Interests explains how a relationship between you and a grant applicant might compromise your independence. If you have any questions regarding this, feel free to contact us.
Please also inform us if you consider yourself insufficiently qualified to make an expert judgment on the quality of an application.
No remuneration
We are aware that other organisations may offer evaluators some form of remuneration. However, as we do not want referees to review other people’s work for any reason other than scientific interest, we have made a conscious decision not to pay for assessments. We are fully aware that assessing applications is a time-consuming activity, and we are very grateful to our referees for their generosity.
My ZonMw
We use the My ZonMw digital counter for the assessment of grant applications.