TDCC SSH Challenge Call 2026
This page contains SSH-specific information related to the NWO TDCC call 2026. For general information about the call, refer to the link below:
To submit a proposal to the NWO for the social sciences and humanities domain, you must first complete this process and be selected. The process will guide you from submitting an initial idea as an expression of interest to submitting your proposal to the NWO.
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Step 1. Submit a collaborative idea: February - April 2026
The process begins when you submit your project idea to us via the form below as an expression of interest. This includes general questions about your idea and the potential partners involved, as well as a rough action plan and outcomes. While we welcome ideas that are already mature and well-thought-out, you can also submit something that is not yet detailed.
Find more information below.
Projects need to help realise the digitalisation ambitions of the TDCC-SSH and the related communities, as described in our roadmap document and the addendum. The ambitions relate to FAIR research data and software in the Social Sciences & Humanities, in the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands. The budget per project for the NWO call is expected to be €50.000-400.000 (plus 25% matched funding requirement), with projects lasting up to 24 months.
What makes a strong project for the TDCC-SSH:
• Producing something concrete that advances FAIR data & software in the SSH domain or communities within it
• Several relevant institutions meaningfully involved
• Project team including different roles, organizations, and viewpoints
• Complementary to existing initiatives and infrastructures (e.g. SSHOC-NL project, services of ODISSEI, CLARIAH, DANS, SURF, etc.)
• Plans for dissemination of the results as fixed part of the planning, to ensure uptake of output (i.e. go beyond basic dissemination)
• Strong case of sustainability of the efforts beyond the project
To stimulate project ideas, we will host an in-person, unconference-style networking event on 24 March 2026 in Utrecht. Attendance is not a requirement in order to submit an expression of interest, but it is a great opportunity for meeting colleagues and potential project partners.
Join to brainstorm ideas, meet potential project partners, and give your input on the ideas of others!
Registration is open until Tuesday, 17 March 2026 -Register now!
We are accepting submissions until 22 April 2026, 14:00 CEST, but you can already submit your idea at any point before that.
If you have already contacted possible partners and related initiatives in the Dutch research landscape, please mention this explicitly - collaboration is key in this process.
After the deadline for expressions of interest, we will review the ideas against a limited criteria check (led by the TDCC SSH team). Viable project ideas will then move forward in the process.
The submitters of the ideas need to be employees of publicly funded organisations in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Submitting an expression of interest to us is not binding - you may choose to withdraw your submission at any time.
Even before submitting a project idea to our process, you must make sure to check for overlap with relevant initiatives. Has this topic already been worked on? Is there another project already planned that will attempt something very similar?
We must avoid duplicating effort, re-inventing the wheel, or letting previous work go to waste.
To help you with a starting point (!) for your search, we have compiled a shortlist of larger projects and relating initiatives:
• Previous TDCC projects: "Bottleneck" projects,Challenge Call 2024, selected Challenge Call 2025
• SSHOC-NL, specifically the different workstreams/task groups https://zenodo.org/records/7645356
• PDI-SSH projects funded in 2020 call and 2021 call
• HAICu: digital Humanities - Artificial Intelligence - Cultural heritage project: NWO project base, project website
• OSCARS (Horizon Europe project); specifically from the Social Sciences and Humanities Science Cluster (SSHOC - not to be confused with SSHOC-NL!)
• E-RIHS: European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science, previous projects: https://e-rihs.nl/en/projecten/ (more projects approved, but not public yet)
• Macroscope: Major SSH project that was funded in 2026 https://zenodo.org/records/18337512
Other places to check are different NWO grants and projects (e.g.NWO project database) and other funders and organisations. You are expected to do this research yourself, overlap with other initiatives may have a negative effect on your chances of selection.
Do you know of a project or initiative that should be listed here? Help us out by sending them to ssh@tdcc.nl.
Step 2. Refine idea: May - June 2026
In this phase, the ideas are shared publicly in different ways, and the broader communities and our network can give their input and get involved. Over the following weeks, project teams develop their expressions of interest further, into more detailed and refined project plans. These will form the basis for assessment and selection by a committee.
Read the details and find the relevant deadlines below, with a dedicated page with project plan instructions.
All viable expressions of interest will be shared publicly by 29 April 2026. This allows our network to reach out to the submitters with input and about possible collaborations. It also enables the submitters to see what other people have submitted, and join forces with them in case of overlap.
On 12 and 13 May 2026, we will host online matchmaking sessions. All submitters will briefly present their idea and we facilitate matchmaking with others. The time slots for the individual ideas will be allocated based on availability and topics, where possible. It is mandatory for every project idea to be presented.
After the online matchmaking, the submitters can begin writing their project plans with their project teams. The project plan provides more detail than the expression of interest and includes additional information; e.g. on any parties that have already confirmed their involvement, a general budget estimate, sustainability plans, etc.
The deadline for submitting the project plan is 1 July 2026, 14:00 CEST. Submissions are only valid if they are complete, fulfill the requirements, and are submitted through our submission system ‘ConfTool’.
The result of the selection will be shared in the beginning of September 2026.
Step 3. Proposal Writing: September - November 2026
During the summer months, an Assessment & Selection Committee reviews the submitted project plans, resulting in a selection of projects and feedback for all project plans. We will announce this in the beginning of September.
If your project idea has been selected - congratulations! You and your team are invited to write your proposal following the NWO template and guidelines on the NWO call page. The process is now non-competitive and we organize some guidance on making your proposal stronger.
After another limited criteria check of the formal aspects by the TDCC-SSH team, our Assessment & Selection Committee (consisting of members of the Advisory Board and the wider community) will review the submitted project plans.
The assessment will be based on a weighted list of criteria (incl. Feasibility, level of collaboration, budget estimates), leading to a ranking of all submissions. The A&S Committee members convenes to discuss the budgets of the project ideas with the highest ranking. Projects submissions will be moved to the next phase from highest ranking to lowest, until the total of €800k available funding is used up.
If you have questions about this procedure, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Whether selected or not, all project plans will receive useful feedback from the committee, including suggestions for improvements.
Was your project idea not selected this time? You can improve your idea and resubmit next year, and/or try to submit it for other funding opportunities.
Was your project idea placed on the waiting list? Then you may still have a chance if one of the selected projects does not continue. If this happens, we will be in touch on a case-to-case basis.
While you write your proposal, we organize a mandatory peer feedback round, where you and the other selected project teams give each other feedback on your drafts. We also offer a proposal-writing workshop (details will be shared with you directly).
By Mid October (exact deadlines will follow), you must submit your full proposal draft to us for feedback by your peers. In turn, you are required to give feedback to up to 3 proposals of your peers. The deadlines for sending your feedback is around 2 weeks later.
Please note that failure to participate properly in the peer feedback process will disqualify you from our project process and you will not receive a submission letter.
Final Step. Submission to NWO: November 2026
All proposals submitted to NWO must be accompanied by a Submission Letter from the TDCC SSH. If you followed all steps of the process properly, you will be provided with this letter, well in time for the submission deadline in November 2026.
Once you have your final proposal and submission letter ready, you must submit both to the NWO through the ISAAC online platform. Submissions for TDCC SSH projects will be accepted until12 November 2026, 14:00 CET.
NWO Approval Process
After the proposal submission deadline, NWO will convene an internal check for all applications via an international review committee. We expect this process to take up to three months, counting from the submission deadline.
We continuously try to refine and improve our process further. If you have feedback for us, we are happy to receive it. Please contact the TDCC SSH team with any questions that may remain, by sending an email to ssh@tdcc.nl.
