The next award ceremony will take place in 2021.

The laureates will be announced in early 2021.

Any questions about the nomination and selection process should be addressed to the KNAW via ammodoscienceaward@knaw.nl

For any other questions about the Ammodo Science Award please contact Ammodo via asa@ammodo.org

Researchers can be nominated for the Ammodo Science Award 2021 by:

• executive boards of all Dutch universities
• faculty deans of all Dutch universities
• directors of Dutch research institutes
• at least three members of the KNAW and/or the Young KNAW acting together
• the board of the National Network of Female Professors

Click here for the regulations.

This Award is presented biennially for research in four scientific disciplines (Biomedical Sciences, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences).

The target group for the Ammodo Science Award is internationally recognised researchers currently working in the Netherlands who received their PhD no more than 15 years ago.

A maximum of two researchers from each scientific field will receive an Award. A total of eight prizes are awarded.

For each scientific field an advisory committee of five eminent professors will assess the nominations. Each of the advisory committees will then put forward two promising researchers within the relevant field to the board of the KNAW. After considered approval of the candidates put forward, the board of the KNAW then provides the board of Ammodo with the list of proposed laureates for definitive approval.

Innovation in science begins with internationally recognised scientists who are able to explore new subject areas and are driven by curiosity. Through the Ammodo Science Award we want to provide researchers with the opportunity to develop their own insights and ideas, and thereby break new ground. We have explicitly chosen to finance mid-career scientists. We hope that the Ammodo Science Award will be an incentive for the development of the talents and the furtherance of the scientific careers of the researchers.

The Ammodo Science Award encourages fundamental science in the widest sense: from Humanities and Social Sciences to Biomedical and Natural Sciences.

Ammodo attaches great importance to unfettered fundamental scientific research: the freedom to search for new knowledge and understanding, without the limitation of having to focus on finding solutions or practical applications is absolutely essential when pushing boundaries and achieving groundbreaking new insights. The KNAW shares this view and, moreover, pointed out in its report entitled “Space for independent research” (2015) that (financial) support for independent fundamental research has fallen sharply over the past decade. The TWIN-figures (2016) and the Rathenau report “Chinese dishes” (2016) confirm this finding.

The Ammodo Science Award consists of eight sums of money, each of 300,000 euros. The laureates can spend this amount at their discretion to fund either their own research or a research project into fundamental scientific issues which they are supervising.

Ammodo seeks to stimulate innovation in art and science. It therefore wishes to enable internationally recognised researchers to carry out unfettered, fundamental scientific research and therefore sought contact with the KNAW, the ideal partner given its unrivalled experience with the supervision and conduct of the nomination and selection processes for scientific prizes.

The KNAW is responsible for putting together the advisory committees and the supervision and conduct of the nomination and selection process. Ammodo is responsible for the provision and presentation of the Awards and for all communications relevant to the Ammodo Science Award.

The name of the Award changed from the Ammodo KNAW Award to the Ammodo Science Award on 1 June 2018. This was at the request of the KNAW in order to bring its collaboration with Ammodo on the Ammodo Science Award more in line with other externally financed prizes.