What is an R&D statement?

R&D statement, what does it mean?

When applying for a WBSO subsidy, one of the requirements is that your activities can be seen as R&D activities. R&D stands for Research and Development activities. In practice, this is also called R&D (Research and Development), renewal or innovation. Whatever you call it, the R&D statement is a statement of the activities you perform as a company and for which you have applied for a WBSO subsidy. For more information on the activities that fall under R&D work, please take a look at our blog on suitable projects for the WBSO subsidy.

So what does this statement say?

You will receive the S&O statement as a document from the RVO (Rijksdienst Voor Ondernemend Nederland). In the case of the flat-rate calculation, this document describes how the assessment of your project turned out.

In case you want to offset the hours invested, the flat rate option, you will be shown how many hours you are allowed to offset for each part of the project. In the case that you have chosen to offset the costs of your R&D project, it will describe which costs or expenses you are allowed to offset against the subsidy. More information on these two ways of offsetting the subsidy can be found in our blog on offsetting the WBSO subsidy and on the website of the RVO.

If your project is not granted a subsidy, you will receive a rejection. Before this happens, you or your intermediary will be contacted by the RFO by telephone to discuss the rejection. It is then often possible to provide additional information or clarification so that the application can still be positively assessed.

Why is the R&D statement so important?

When you have received the S&O statement and your project or parts of it have been approved, this means that you officially have approval to offset the subsidy. This is not allowed before you have received it! Keep the S&O statement with the rest of your WBSO administration to ensure that , in the event of a WBSO audit, you can neatly present which activities have been approved and what you have done about them.

Want to know more about how we can guide you through this process? Then contact us and we will think with you.