How public bodies contract for research they cannot specify in advance
Research procurement has a structural problem: the buyer is purchasing an answer to a question, and if the answer were known the contract would be unnecessary. Public bodies deal with this by buying in phases. A feasibility or concept phase is awarded to several suppliers in parallel, each paid a modest fixed sum; a subset is then funded to prototype; a smaller subset again reaches demonstration. Each phase is a competition among the survivors of the last, so a bidder should read the notice for the phase structure and the progression criteria before pricing anything.
Intellectual property is the term that decides whether the contract is worth winning. Arrangements range from full assignment of results to the buyer, through a licence to the buyer with the supplier retaining ownership and the right to commercialise elsewhere, to background and foreground IP splits that must be catalogued before work starts. Development-focused schemes often deliberately leave ownership with the supplier so that a market can form around the result, while procurement of research for internal use tends toward assignment. The two produce very different bid economics.
Evaluation weights the proposal's scientific and technical merit, the team's record, and the credibility of the risk assessment, and it rewards candour about what might fail. Deliverables are reports, data and demonstrations rather than products, so acceptance criteria are written around defined technical readiness levels or measurable milestones. Where human participants, animals, personal data or dual-use technology are involved, ethical approval and export control clearance are conditions precedent with their own timetables, and they are a common cause of a project starting months after award.
This section describes how this category is bought generally, across the public buyers that publish it. The figures elsewhere on this page are measured for this market alone.
Who buys research & development in Netherlands?
GlobalGov holds 97 research & development records from 73 distinct buying organisations in Netherlands. The most frequent publishers are Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (8 records); Gemeente Den Haag (3 records); IUC-RIVM (3 records); Stichting Amsterdam UMC (3 records); UWV (3 records); Ministerie Van Binnenlandse Zaken En Koninkrijksrelaties (2 records). Between them the 6 largest account for 23% of everything published, so buying here is spread across many separate authorities.
| Buying organisation | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Technische Universiteit Eindhoven | 8 | 8.2% |
| Gemeente Den Haag | 3 | 3.1% |
| IUC-RIVM | 3 | 3.1% |
| Stichting Amsterdam UMC | 3 | 3.1% |
| UWV | 3 | 3.1% |
| Ministerie Van Binnenlandse Zaken En Koninkrijksrelaties | 2 | 2.1% |
What are research & development contracts worth in Netherlands?
38 of the 97 records publish a contract value. The median is $637,200 and the largest single published value is $10.8M. By size, 8 under $100k, 18 between $100k and $1M, 11 between $1M and $10M, 1 above $10M. The remaining 59 publish no value at all, so every figure here describes the priced subset only, and values are as stated by the buyer rather than as finally awarded.
| Contract size | Records | Share of priced |
|---|---|---|
| under $100k | 8 | 21% |
| between $100k and $1M | 18 | 47% |
| between $1M and $10M | 11 | 29% |
| above $10M | 1 | 2.6% |
How long do bidders get to respond to research & development tenders in Netherlands?
Across the 29 Netherlands research & development notices that publish both a publication date and a closing date, the median response window is 38 days. A quarter of them allowed 25 days or fewer and a quarter stayed open for more than 44. Short turnarounds are the exception rather than the rule here: only 4 (14%) closed within a fortnight of being published.
How often are research & development tenders published in Netherlands?
Netherlands publishes about 3 notices a month in this category, 34 in the last twelve months. Over the last three years there were 37, spread across 37 separate months of activity since 19 July 2016. August is historically the busiest month. The most recent was published 8 September 2026.
How does Netherlands compare with other research & development markets?
Among the 35 countries where GlobalGov holds a comparable research & development market, Netherlands ranks 22nd by number of records. The largest is Australia (13,059 records against 97 here). Within Netherlands itself, research & development is the 48th largest of the 63 procurement categories tracked here.
Where do the Netherlands research & development records on this page come from?
These 97 records are collected from 1 official source: TED (97). GlobalGov is an independent aggregator and is not affiliated with any of them; each record links back to the notice on its issuing portal. The set is rebuilt nightly, and the counts on this page were taken on 2026-10-01.
Open Research & Development tenders in Netherlands
Showing 10 of the 17 notices open in this category today. Openness uses the same definition as the Netherlands market page: active, not marked awarded, cancelled, closed or expired, and either closing in the future or published within the last 90 days with no stated closing date.
Netherlands – Research and development services and related consultancy services – Leefbarometer
Netherlands – Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses) – Micro Transfer Printing tool
Netherlands – Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses) – Wafer Level Reliability Tool
Netherlands – Research consultancy services – Financieringsmogelijkheden Leeroverzicht.nl
Netherlands – Investigation services – Monitor Integriteit en Veiligheid 2026-2030
Netherlands – Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses) – Levering en onderhoud SEM/EDX t.b.v. NFI
Netherlands – Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses) – EA HRAM LC-MS systeem voor klinische diagnostiek
Netherlands – Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses) – GLP systems track
Netherlands – Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses) – Metal/Backend Sputter system- second Tender
Other procurement categories in Netherlands
Software DevelopmentManagement ConsultingWaste ManagementAgricultural EquipmentVehicles and FleetVehicle MaintenanceSecurity ServicesCivil ConstructionIT ConsultingIct EquipmentFinancial AdvisoryArchitecture and EngineeringOffice FurnitureMedical EquipmentAudit and AccountingHospital ConstructionFacilities and CleaningBuilding MaterialsPharmaceuticalsTraining and Capacity BuildingRoads and Highways InfrastructureTelecommunicationsLaboratory EquipmentUniforms ClothingPrinting PublishingBuilding ConstructionGround TransportStaffing AugmentationFuel SupplyScientific ResearchFood Aid and NutritionFreight and LogisticsCommunity DevelopmentMail CourierMaintenance & RepairCatering ServicesRenovation RehabilitationCommunications PrOil Gas UpstreamEvent ManagementSchools and UniversitiesMilitary LogisticsWater Supply ProjectsWeapons SystemsRoad & InfrastructureElectrical InstallationDatabase ManagementCybersecuritySite PreparationHelpdesk SupportFinancial ServicesEnergyConsultingResearch and StudiesTransportationTraining & EducationEnvironmental ServicesHealthcare ServicesSanitation SewerageMonitoring EvaluationNetwork InfrastructureWarehousing
Research & Development procurement in other markets
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