Health-Holland

Further financial support Other governmental incentives The Dutch government offers several other incentives to companies. One example is the Corporate Finance Guarantee Scheme (GO), in which capital providers are granted a 50% government guarantee to facilitate medium- and large companies wishing to borrow large amounts of money. For SMEs, there is the Growth Facility Scheme, under which the government provides a 50% guarantee for financiers providing venture capital to these enterprises. Moreover, employers can receive a tax-free budget for benefits equal to 1.2% of their annual taxable wage under the Work- related Costs Scheme. For employees, there is a Travel Allowance scheme for commuting costs to-and-from a fixed workplace. Invest-NL In 2017, the Dutch government announced a new incentive, Invest-NL. The objective of this scheme is to stimulate investments in the Netherlands. In 2019, Invest-NL will be a development and financing body with a capital of 2.5 billion euros aimed at helping companies experiencing difficulties with raising capital. This might be because there is uncertainty about the relationship between risk and return, or because of a long and uncertain return on investment. Invest-NL offers entrepreneurs support in risk capital, guarantees, export credit insurances and international financing programs. Moreover, Invest-NL will develop large-scale social projects in the Netherlands and abroad and co-finance where necessary. Public financing of R&D The Dutch government finances approximately one-third of the annual national expenses on R&D. There are several ways in which R&D is publicly funded. In general terms, basic financing allows universities and institutions to allocate the funds themselves. There is also project or program financing available. Here, funds are provided for a specific time, budget and content. In most cases, there is also a competitive element. Health research is funded, among others, by the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMW). This organisation also promotes the actual use of the knowledge this research produces. Recently, the National Science Agenda provided a boost to the Dutch science policy, which was generated in 2016. The purpose of the Agenda was to connect existing research agendas, such as the EU Horizon 2020 program, with questions arising from Dutch society. It is expected that the National Science Agenda will be an important building block for future research programs at universities and institutions. While further developing the health agenda, alternative methods for testing the clinical effectiveness of new medical interventions (including medicines) will also be investigated, as well as research into outcome measures at the level of the individual patient. Attention will also be paid to new approaches, such as customised and regenerative medicines. Venture capital and private equity The Netherlands has not only a highly appealing tax regime and incentive schemes but also an abundance of venture capital companies that invest in the country’s innovative enterprises. A total of 4.0 billion euros was invested across 411 companies in 2017. These funds included venture capital injections in fast-growing start-ups and private equity investments in mature companies. Venture capitalists in the Netherlands often focus on life sciences and ICT companies. 70