Introduction

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) / the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) will open a joint call for proposals in December 2016. The topic of the call is Technology for a Sustainable Healthcare: Minimally invasive techniques. This programme offers funding opportunities for joint research cooperation between Dutch and Indian research groups.

This call for proposals sets out information about the possibilities for submitting applications, the conditions that applications must meet and the procedure for assessing the applications.

Aim The aim of the call for proposals is to stimulate sustainable Indian-Dutch research collaboration by funding joint research projects in the area of medical devices that have the explicit goal to contribute to a more sustainable health care either in India or in The Netherlands. The aim is to develop innovative technology for a sustainable healthcare system. We define sustainable healthcare as a high quality system that is affordable and accessible for every individual, and affordable and sufficiently staffed for society as a whole.

Three strategic questions to address are:

1. How can technology support health and wellbeing of people in order to help them function and participate in society, outside of organized care? The point is to focus on health rather than healthcare. By focusing on prevention, health and wellbeing you will reduce the need for professional healthcare.
2. How can technology enable care to be delivered closer to home? In many cases it is more cost effective and better for patients to deliver care outside of care institutions. Chronic care should not be managed in hospitals. Rehabilitation should take place closer to home or even at home.
3. How can technology enable more efficient and personalized care? Technology enables us to do more with less. Technology can allow early and individualized diagnosis and prognosis, less invasive treatment and change work processes all together.

Besides providing solutions to above questions, an additional goal is to stimulate the Dutch and Indian research fields of medical devices on: Minimally invasive techniques.

Eligible research teams are composed of Dutch and Indian researchers, with active involvement in the
project of a senior Principal Investigator on both the Indian and the Dutch side. We encourage active
collaboration of applicants and undertakings.

Any Dutch or Indian Principal Investigator may be involved in one application / project only. One
person can be involved in a maximum of two applications, but only in one of these applications as
Principal Investigator.

For the Dutch scientists the NWO / KNAW eligibility criteria are applied, i.e. the Dutch Principal
Investigator should be affiliated to:
 a Dutch university or University Medical Centre; or
 an institute affiliated to NWO; or
 an institute affiliated to KNAW; or
 the Netherlands Cancer Institute NKI;
 the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen; or
 the DUBBLE Beamline at the ESRF in Grenoble; or
 Naturalis NBC; or
 the Advanced Research Centre for NanoLithography (ARCNL);
 TNO — Nederlandse Organisatie voor toegepast-natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek;
AND
have an employment contract for at least the duration of the application procedure and the duration of
the research the grant is applied for;
AND
have at least a PhD or an equivalent qualification.

For the Indian scientists patterning with the Dutch Scientist, the Indian Principal Investigator should be
researcher from public or private nonprofit institution that develop and perform R&D activities. This
includes universities and other academic institutions, research institutions, hospitals, nongovernmental
organisations and public foundations.

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