Sector Assessment knowledge security: NWO and KNAW Institutes on the right track

In 2022, the Dutch knowledge sector and the Dutch government jointly published the National Guideline on Knowledge Safety. The Guideline is a guide for all knowledge institutes dealing with international cooperation, where opportunities and (safety) risks must be weighed against each other. NWO Institutes have also since started implementing the guidelines from the National Knowledge Safety Guide. The Minister of Education, Culture and Science oversees the implementation of the National Guideline and has promised to commission a sector assessment in that context. The sector picture will indicate where the institutions stand with the elaboration of the knowledge safety policy, what concerns they have and how they deal with challenges. The independent research and consultancy firm Oberon/Dialogic was commissioned by the minister to produce the sector assessment. The assesment of the research institutes of NWO and KNAW was sent to the House of Representatives in June 2024. In the progress letter Knowledge Security in Higher Education and Science, Minister Bruins shares his reaction to the sector assessment and responds to the organisations' response.

'Open where possible and protect where necessary'

In the response, both organisations report what has happened in recent years in the field of knowledge security, and what bottlenecks the organisations see. Under the motto 'open where possible and protect where necessary' the Institutes set to work on the development and implementation of knowledge safety policy. In line with the National Knowledge Safety Guideline, efforts have included raising awareness, safe organisation design and taking protective measures to prevent the unwanted transfer of knowledge in international collaborations or during business trips. For example, the institutes conducted a risk and vulnerability analysis, which identified the research institutes' interests to be protected and provided insight into vulnerabilities. These analyses contributed to an increasing awareness of knowledge security in all layers of the organisations and new protection measures were taken as a result of these outcomes.

The sector assessment provides a good picture of the state of play on integrating knowledge security into the research practice of the Institutes by the end of 2023. The assessment shows that the organisations have drawn up policies on all four topics mentioned in the Guideline (international partnerships, personnel, physical, and cyber security). These policies are implemented in practice and an improvement cycle has been implemented. Moreover, both organisations regularly exchange best practices to benefit from each other's expertise and activities. In this way, NWO-I and KNAW try to accelerate implementation in both organisations. A good example is the awareness campaign developed by NWO's institutes organisation. That campaign was effective and therefore KNAW will roll out a similar campaign format before the end of this year.

Trust in knowledge institutions and further development of the Knowledge Security Desk

Both organisations will continue to develop knowledge safety policy in the future, and are pleased to read in the minister's response to the sector assessment that he has confidence in the approach and implementation at knowledge institutions. This confidence is essential to maintain and expand the current support for knowledge safety policy implementation.

The KNAW and NWO Institutes also draw attention to the importance of further developing the Knowledge Security Desk. This desk offers help to institutions with questions about opportunities, risks and practical issues surrounding international cooperation. While the institutes greatly appreciate the counter, there are some concerns about the turnaround times of the counter and knowledge about scientific research practice. The NWO and KNAW Institutes are keen to discuss this with the minister ahead of the evaluation of the desk as announced by the minister.

National security and academic values

In developing knowledge security policy, the organisations remain committed to calling attention to the tension between national security and academic value, particularly focusing on preventing stigmatisation. The institutes hope to work with the minister on this. The Netherlands cannot develop its knowledge security policy alone, and will have to join forces with Europe to do so.

More information

Letter from Minister Bruins on knowledge security and KNAW and NWO response to sector assessment on the website of the Tweede Kamer (Dutch only).  

Sector assessment research Institutes and KNAW and NWO-I on the website of Rijksoverheid (Dutch only).