Updated on: 2020-04-01
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| Q1A. What arrangements, if any, do you have in place to ensure scientific advice informs national policy and decision making in relation to Covid-19? | The Dutch RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) is in close contact with the government and part of the Outbreak Management Team. The National Crisis Decision-making Manual outlines the powers, responsibilities and core tasks of the main actors within the national crisis structure. This core of this structure consists of the Interdepartmental and the Ministerial Crisis Management Committee: The Commission, chaired by the Minister of Justice and Security or the Prime Minister, decides (by majority) on all measures and arrangements for a coherent approach in a situation where national security is at stake or in another situation that has or can have a major impact on society Interdepartmental Crisis Management Committee (ICCb) This High Official Level Commission (DG) is chaired by the NCTV and advises the MCCb and takes its own decisions if necessary and possible. Flexible Experts can attend ICCb and MCCb on invitation. Examples include experts in a specific field or representatives of other governments, government services or (vital) sectors. ICCb and MCCb are supported and advised by an Interdepartmental Coordination Consultation and a multidisciplinary staff that are deployed as needed and are flexibly arranged and composed, for example for the provision of information, image and judgment, advice on specific aspects, crisis communication or parliamentary accountability. |
| Q1B. In what ways, if any, are you coordinating on Covid-19 STI responses at international level? | On an economic field, the responses are coördinated within the EU: the EU takes action with an economic response. |
| Q2.Do you have dedicated arrangements in place for communicating science advice and for refuting misleading information to the public on Covid-19? | The Dutch public broadcasting foundation regularly asks experts to tell about COVID-19. Expert information, both from the WHO and scientists, is regularly referred to in newspapers and commercial broadcasting foundations. There seems to be only a small minority of newsmakers busy with misleading information. However, it's hard to tell what voices are there below the surface. There is some news about false information, ranging from conspiracy theories to misleading health advice. |
| Q3. What new STI policy measures, if any, is your country taking to respond specifically to the Covid-19 crisis? | 1. A guarantee facility for SME loans (BMKB) is already in place and working – EUR 665 million of an available budget of EUR 765 million, 0.08% of GDP. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy has expanded guarantees to a higher guarantee percentage, up to 90% of the credit risk of banks for SMEs that want to take out a loan of EUR 1.5 mln maximum but that do not have the required collateral. This measure was recently expanded for SMEs coping with risks associated with the nitrogen ruling (adopted) and is further expanded to apply to SMEs affected by COVID-19. 2. Businesses can request for a special deferral of payment in income tax, corporate tax, turnover tax, energy tax and wage tax. Temporarily, no penalties for failure to pay taxes (on time) will be imposed. Businesses that already forecast lower profits due to the epidemic can request a reduction of the provisional tax assessment and will be able to pay less initial tax in order to avoid liquidity problems. To avoid immediate liquidity problems, the requirement for a “third expert” will not have to be included in the request immediately (but after two weeks). Moreover, the tax authorities will temporarily decrease the recovery interest rate from 4% to 0.01%. 5. The so-called GO-regulation, through which SMEs can secure a 50% guarantee from the government on their bank loans and bank guarantees, will be expanded. The maximum ceiling guaranteed will be increased from EUR 400 million tot EUR 1.5 billion and the maximum GO-facility per firm will be increased from EUR 50 million to EUR 150 million. This will enable both small and large firms to benefit from this policy. 6. In order to support small firms and start-ups with little financial reserves, we will expand the Qredits-programme. Through this program, we expect to support approximately 3000 to 6000 firms by a deferment of payment for a period of a maximum of six months and by giving those firms a discount on their rent payments for the same period. 7. Agricultural and horticultural SMEs will be supported by temporarily relaxing the guarantee for working capital, which is part of the existing decree Borgstelling MKB-Landbouwkredieten (BL). The decree will ease acute liquidity problems for agricultural and horticultural business who experience those problems due to the COVID-situation. The credit is for a maximum of 2 years. 8. Repayments of Innovation Credit and Early Stage Financing, both subsidies in the form of a credit, can be delayed for six monthts. 9. Likely, the Dutch Health ministry will do additional investments, together with the science and the economic departments, for Corona-related medicines. |
| Q4A. At national level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? | Within the topsector policy, different stakeholders are already involved. They thus have a platform to find solutions to Covid-19 and already have applied EUR 5 million. Furthermore, they are making Covid-19 related data publicly available. |
| Q4B. At international level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? | On an European level, Horizon 2020 has also been rescheduled to find COVID-19 related vaccines and medicines. |
| Q5. What novel approaches, if any, is your country using to address the coronavirus crisis (e.g. use of machine learning, open science initiatives boosting access and sharing of data and research results, development and use of prediction models, etc.)? | As far as today, there are no new initiatives . However, TNO, which is a multidiscliplinary applied research institute, has already started doing extra research, focussed on crisis management tools and medical instruments. |
| Q6A. What impact on the STI system do you anticipate in the short-, medium- and long-term, and what measures are you implementing to address those? | It is hard to forecast the eventual consequences. On the short run, there are already a few results: - less R&D teaken place (best guess, no official data yet, however already firms indicating). - Clinical trials are harder to do; - Firms, especially young firms, find it harder to attract venture capital. On the longer run, firms might start to do more R&D, as they can put their attention in R&D rather than operational activities. This has been a result of the 2008 financial crisis. It is hard to tell if these results also are valid for this crisis. |
| Q6B. Is support of the STI system part of planned stimulus packages aimed at supporting the economy? | The stimulus package is aimed primarily at sectors in the economy targeted most - hotels, restaurants, café's, and other freelancers who are no longer able to do their work. Given that it is hard for some young entrepreneurs - especially young innovative start-ups - to show the 'economic damage' done by them. It is currently being debated how and if they can be helped. |
| Q7. Is there anything else regarding the STI policy response to Covid-19 in your country you would like to mention? | [Left blank] |