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Sector plans for scientific research and university education

The government wants to create extra jobs and increase the number of staff on permanent contracts at universities and university medical centres (UMCs). These aims are set out in sector plans for which the government is providing €200 million in structural funding.

Clearcut choices in sector plans

The sector plans have led to clearcut choices about the division of tasks and research focus areas between universities. Sometimes it’s smarter to have only a few institutions focus on a particular area of research or knowledge, for instance sustainable energy or health and wellbeing . This enhances the quality of education and research, and gives teaching and research staff more professional space.

The video below explains what the plans are, and how they will impact teaching and research staff at universities and UMCs.

Text Explain Academic education and research sector plans video 
Text: Hundreds more jobs added at Radboud and Wageningen Universities. 
Presenter: You may have seen this headline recently. Those hundreds of jobs do not just come from nowhere - good academic education and research require money. The minister has therefore decided to make an additional 200 million euros available for structural investment in universities and UMCs. Through the 'academic education and research sector plans'. In this video, I explain what these plans are, and perhaps more importantly, what they can mean for you as a lecturer and researcher. 
Text: Explainer. 
Academic education and research sector plans. 
Presenter: The minister is making an additional 200 million euros a year available for academic education and research. This investment is aimed at encouraging cooperation between and within universities. And at producing a calmer environment that provides sufficient space for lecturers and researchers. For this, we are creating more jobs and more permanent contracts, so the workload can be reduced. Universities and UMCs will have greater scope to attract, train and retain academic talent. Also, universities will be able to join forces and mutually raise their profiles, enabling them to project a distinct identity at home as well as abroad. But first, what are 'academic education and research sector plans', and who are involved in them? 
Text: Sector plans. 
Presenter: The four main academic domains - science, technology, social sciences & humanities and medical & health sciences - have created their own sector plans. Each sector plan describes the specific topics and focus areas in which the sector intends to make structural investments. So, firm choices have been made about where the investments will produce the best results. 
Text: National Sector Plans Committee 
Presenter: Of course, the money will be carefully spent. The relevant stakeholders from the universities and UMCs made plans for their respective domains. These plans were presented to the National Sector Plans Committee. They, in turn, then advised on the plans and the corresponding allocation of funds. Based on this, the Minister of Education, Culture and Science gave the green light for the sector plans to be implemented. 
Text: Actual practice. 
Presenter: But what does this mean for you in the workplace? Briefly, it means that more jobs will be created and that academic staff can be given permanent contracts sooner. Thanks to the extra staff, the workload will be reduced and the quality of research and education improved. That's good for everyone, of course. 
Text: Conclusion. 
Presenter: So, through the sector plans, the government is making 200 million euros a year available for structural investments to strengthen academic education and research. That encourages cooperation and allows joint, clear choices to be made about which specializations can be found at individual universities and UMCs. It also enables new and permanent jobs to be created. This ultimately produces a calmer environment that provides sufficient space for lecturers and researchers. Are you interested in the sector plans? Go to nlsectorplannen.nl. 
Thank you for watching, and don't forget to watch the other videos produced by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Goodbye. 
Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) logo shown on screen. Text: This video was produced by the national government. 

Sector plan themes

The sector plans describe the main themes on which each of the sectors will focus.

Sector plan for engineering and technology
These plans focus on major global challenges, for instance relating to:

  • energy and sustainability;
  • agriculture, water and food.

Key technologies (in Dutch) also play a central role.

Sector plan for the sciences
The connecting themes are:

  • climate;
  • energy;
  • health;
  • biodiversity.

Sector plan for health sciences and medicine
The main themes in this plan are:

  • prevention, aimed at increasing people’s healthy life expectancy;
  • data-driven innovation in healthcare;
  • the pathway from basic research to practical application. 

Sector plan for social sciences and humanities
The plan will strengthen collaboration in an interdisciplinary programme on:

  • wellbeing and prosperity;
  • promoting civic engagement;
  • citizenship in a digital world: how people behave and communicate online.

In addition, the five focus areas of interdisciplinary social sciences research are:

  1. promoting young people’s resilience;
  2. the human factor in new technologies;
  3. social inequality;
  4. social transition and behaviour change;
  5. gaining insight into the most effective therapies for mental health disorders.

The humanities are choosing to bolster the foundations for research and strengthen education programmes for modern languages and Dutch.

Sector plans developed from the bottom-up

The sectors themselves (the sciences, engineering & technology, health sciences & medicine, social sciences & humanities) drew up the plans and are responsible for drafting their spending plans.

Monitoring and evaluation of the sector plans

There will be a monitoring committee for each sector plan. Each committee will conduct a mid-term evaluation after 3 years (in 2026), followed by a final evaluation after 6 years (in 2029). The monitoring committees will advise the Minister of Education, Culture and Science, who is responsible for deciding whether resources can be allocated structurally to the institutions in question.