The European Commission has made an amount of 108 million euro from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) available to the Northern Netherlands. In addition, the Dutch government has further supplemented the ERDF with some 19.5 million euro, raising the total amount of funds available to the northern provinces to 127.5 million.
“The endorsement from the European Commission is a great incentive for entrepreneurs, knowledge institutions, governments and social organizations that want to collaborate on innovative projects. The dot on the horizon is a circular, happy and inclusive Northern Netherlands,” says deputy Friso Bouwstra in a statement on the province of Friesland’s official website.
The funds from the ERDF – which will be shared amongst Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe – are part of a larger continental cohesion plan, which aims to reduce the differences in development and prosperity between European regions, while promoting inclusivity, as well as green energy.
The primary goal of the funding is to further the development and prosperity of the Northern Netherlands, states the official website of the province of Groningen. According to the announcement, this will be done through a focus on cooperation between entrepreneurs, knowledge institutions, government and social organizations.
Specifically, Samenwerkingsverband Noord Nederland (SNN), the initiative largely responsible for the distribution of the funds, has developed a strategic plan that they have dubbed ‘RIS3’. With this plan, the SNN hopes to make use of the region’s existing strengths, such as water technology and circular plastics.
In addition, the plan aims to promote transitional efforts across the region. According to the SNN’s website, this means, for example, transitioning from fossil fuels to green energy, and from a linear economy to a circular economy.
Naturally, these large-scale changes are planned to take place over the coming six years, notes the SNN’s official website. However, a portion of the funds will be made available as grants which budding entrepreneurs can apply for through the SNN’s website sometime after the summer.
The SNN nor the provincial announcements have not revealed an exact date as to when the funding subsidies will be made officially available.
