Marcel Levi, chairman of the Knowledge Coalition, the partnership between entrepreneurs and scientists:

The Netherlands will fall further behind if we implement these cuts in the field of knowledge and innovation.

The outline agreement states that the Growth Fund will be phased out (round 4 and 5 will be cancelled), the Research and Science Fund will be reduced by EUR 1.1 billion and a cut of EUR 215 million per year will be made to the sector plans (higher education). These investments are urgently needed for the public knowledge base and innovation capacity of the Netherlands.

Not on track

It is hopeful that the coalition also speaks of ‘strengthening the knowledge economy, innovation, and that (digital) infrastructure is prioritised’. But this is at odds with some proposed measures. The coalition wants to sharply reduce the number of international students and tighten and increase the requirements of the knowledge migrant scheme. This could affect the availability of highly educated talent for the labour market, and the Dutch knowledge economy. Possibly, companies will also invest less, thereby actually weakening the position of the Netherlands. Structural investments in research and science pay off handsomely, studies and reports show time and again.

The Netherlands has set itself the target of investing 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in research and development (R&D) by 2030, but is not on track. With the proposed measures, the Netherlands may fall even further off course compared to a number of European countries, which invest at or even above this standard.

The Knowledge Coalition is keen to discuss the outline agreement with the new cabinet and also offers an outstretched hand for this purpose.