Off Road is part of the ZonMw Open Competition programme line, which focuses on curiosity driven, fundamental research at the beginning of the knowledge chain. The aim is to explore and develop promising yet risky (high risk, high reward) ideas within the biomedical and health domain into a proof of concept.
Who can apply
The Off Road grant tool targets creative and adventurous researchers (2–6 years after completing their PhD) and challenges them to explore and develop their promising yet risky (high-risk, high-reward), out-of-the-box research ideas into a proof of concept.
What for
As part of the ZonMw Open Competition programme line, Off Road focuses on curiosity-driven, high-risk, high-reward research that breaks through conventional approaches (out-of-the-box) and has the potential to deliver groundbreaking insights in the fundamental biomedical and health domain.
What to request
The Off Road grant budget for the 2026 round is €2,000,000. In addition, the ZonMw programme More Knowledge with Fewer Animals is making an amount of up to €600,000 available for the New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) investment module. This amount includes a contribution from the Proefdiervrij Foundation (The Dutch Society for the Replacement of Animal Testing). The total grant budget for this funding round therefore amounts to €2,600,000.
Each application may request a maximum of €100,000 for a project with a duration of 12 to 18 months. The grant amount can be used for both personnel costs and costs related to materials and implementation. In addition, applicants may request a one-time optional NAMs investment module to cover the extra material costs associated with the use of NAMs (up to €30,000). This amount is added on top of the requested grant amount, bringing the maximum possible grant for applications including the investment module to €130,000.
When
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Deadline for submitting grant application | Tuesday, 24 March 2026, 14:00 CET |
| Ontvangst inhoudelijke beoordeling | Mid-May 2026 |
| Deadline for submitting a response | Late May 2026 |
| Decision | Late September 2026 |
| Latest start date | March 2027 |
*Subject to change. You will be informed in due course about the exact deadlines and timeframes.
The complete Call for proposals can be downloaded as a PDF. It contains all specific information about this call. All documents you need for your application can be found below. You can submit your grant application via the My ZonMw digital portal until 24 March 2025, 14:00 CET.
Please note: The information session will take place on Wednesday February 11th, 2026, from 09:30 AM to 10:30 AM. Registration for this online session is available via this link.
Downloads voor uw aanvraag
Checklist for submitting your grant application:
- The application has been submitted via the main applicant’s personal My ZonMw account.
- The application has been submitted before the deadline (24 March 2026 at 14:00 CET).
- The grant application is complete and written in English and prepared according to the instructions.
- All required attachments (application form, budget form, embedding guarantee form and statement of agreement to your detailed grant application) are complete, signed if necessary, free of security restrictions, and prepared according to the instructions and conditions of the call for proposals.
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Features
- Opening date: 27 January 2026
- Budget subsidy round: 2 million euro
- Budget per application: € 100.000,- excl. optionele NAMs module
- Part of programme: