NWO has granted a maximum of 850.000 euros to 149 scientists from the domain Science (ENW), Applied and Engineering Sciences (AES) and Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) domains, as well as Health, Research and Development (ZonMw). With the help of the Vidi grant, the talented scientists can start their own line of research and further develop their talent.The topics the scientists will research vary greatly. While one of the scientists will research the influence of old writers and artists on the queer community, the other will make AI more energy efficient by researching how our brains process videos. Another researcher will research certain brain- or mental health factors that influence the use of substances in adolescents and yet another will research how we can use swarms of robots to inspect constructions such as old bridges.This is just a small sample of the innovative Vidi research project awarded in this round.View all Vidi-laureates and their research hereOf the 149 projects that have been granted within the Vidi-round 2024, 57 were granted to projects belonging to ENW, 54 to SSH, 15 to AES and 23 to ZonMw.Vidis are awarded annually by NWO. Among the 778 preliminary applications, 149 are awarded. Of the 778 applications, 393 are men, and 377 are women. Of 8 applicants, the gender is unknown. Of the 149 awards, 70 male and 79 female applicants are awarded. The award rates are 17.8% en 21% respectively.This round, NWO has been able to grant additional funds to honour more high-quality proposals. This enables NWO to give talented researchers a helping hand in times of cutbacks in research and science.     NWO wants to contribute to openness and transparency in and about publicly funded scientific research. That is why we have recently started publishing figures on gender and the disciplines of allocated research in an online dashboard. The dashboard will be further developed in the coming period, with ZonMw data being added in the future and an English version becoming available.View the online dashboardThe NWO Talent Programme gives researchers the freedom to pursue their own research based on creativity and passion. The NWO Talent Programme encourages innovation and curiosity. Curiosity-driven research contributes to and prepares us for tomorrow’s society. That is why NWO focuses on diversity in terms of researchers, domains and backgrounds. Together with the Veni and Vici grants, Vidi is part of the NWO Talent Programme.NWO selects researchers based on the academic quality and innovative character of the research proposal, scientific and/or societal  impact of the  proposed project and the quality of the researcher.Click here for answers to frequently asked questions about the Talent programme, including on gender distribution.The Dutch Research Council (NWO) funds top researchers, steers the course of Dutch science by means of research programmes and by managing the national knowledge infrastructure.