Information for Dutch embassies and consulates - Orange Knowledge

The Orange Knowledge Programme is a Dutch funding programme. It contributes to societies’ social and economic development by strengthening knowledge and skills of professionals and organisations through education, in collaboration with Dutch knowledge organisations.

• Funder: Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (directorates DSO and IGG)
• Manager: Nuffic
• Duration: from mid-2017 to mid-2024
• Countries: projects are ongoing in up to 54 countries; currently new opportunities are available for 28 countries.

Benefits for your embassy

• You have a say in the goals of the OKP for your country, which you can align with your multi-annual country strategy (MASP).
• By being actively involved you can help maximise the impact of the programme in your country.

Aim

The aim of the programme is based on the Netherlands’ development cooperation policy. The programme:

• strengthens knowledge and skills of professionals active in the priority themes fields through scholarships and training.
• builds the capacity of organisations in higher education and TVET (Technical Vocational Education & Training), in collaboration with Dutch knowledge institutions.

Priority themes and country focus

The priority themes are based on the participating countries’ needs and are included in the Country Focus document‌ (269.89 kB). Institutional collaboration projects, group training and scholarships must be aligned with these needs.

Full programme countries have a Country Plan of Implementation (CPI), which is a more detailed description of the country’s capacity needs.

While we do our best to take most of the work out of your hands, we do need your local knowledge and expertise to make the right decisions and achieve our programme goals as described in our Theory of Change document‌ (388.32 kB).

Institutional collaboration projects

There are 65 projects in which Dutch knowledge institutions collaborate with knowledge organisations in over 21 full programme countries to strengthen their capacity in the priority themes included in the CPIs.

In the closure of current ICP projects, you may be approached by implementers to participate as thematic expert in project closing activities. For more insight in the results of the ICP projects, we refer you to the AKVO reporting database which contains reports per project per country.

Tailor-made Training (Plus)

A TMT training is a training for a group of people who are not necessarily associated with the same organisation. The training is delivered by a Dutch organisation. The maximum budget is € 75,000 per training.

As the name suggests, a TMT+ is an extended training with more capacity building components and a maximum budget of € 200,000.

TMT and TMT+ application rounds 2023

In 2023, 2 rounds of calls are available for both TMT and TMT+. We ask you to assess TMT and TMT+ proposals. The planned schedule for the assessment will be as followed:

• TMT and TMT+ call: 1 March – 14 April
• TMT call: 1 May – 14 June

We will ask you to assess the applications in the following time frames:

• 24 April – 1 June
• 22 June – 21 July

Individual scholarships

We offer scholarships for short courses and master's programmes in the Netherlands. Candidates must be mid-career professionals who have finished their studies and are nationals of and currently working in an OKP country (with the exclusion of Indonesia).

After an application round closes, the Dutch education institutions nominate their preferred candidates.

We then ask you to assess‌ the nominated candidates by confirming that their applications are aligned with the Country Focus document or CPI and evaluating the strategic relevancy of their employing organisations.

Eligibility check and assessment questions‌ (90.37 kB)

We encourage you to promote the Orange Knowledge Programme by referring potential applicants to www.studyinNL.org/okp.

Scholarship application rounds 2023

The 2 candidate application rounds for individual scholarships are:

1. 8 February - 30 March
2. 28 June - 5 September

We will ask you to assess the applications in the following time frames:

1. 14 April - 25 May
2. 12 September - 19 October

You can find more information about how to assess applications in the Delta User Manual for Embassies Individual Scholarships Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP).

Alumni activities

In 2023, there will be no new funds for alumni activities.

We frequently send out updates with important information, such as deadlines, calls and changes.

Receive our programme updates

Contact

Please contact your country’s Programme Manager with any questions you may have.

To support participants in communicating about Orange Knowledge projects, we have provided some material that they can use alongside their own. You can forward the link to this page to project partners in your country:

Communication material Orange Knowledge Programme