AFTER THE APPLICATION · ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
Received a WBSO information notice? This is how you answer RVO’s additional questions
A WBSO information notice is not a rejection. RVO asks additional questions when the information in your application is not yet sufficient to assess one or more projects, hours or costs and expenditures. The questions are posed via the application portal or sometimes by telephone. Your answer becomes part of the further substantive assessment.
BY PETER KLAREN · LAST CHECKED SEPTEMBER 2026 · SOURCE: WBSO GUIDE 2026 (RVO)
Additional questions extend the processing period
As soon as RVO asks additional questions, the statutory processing period is suspended. The period in which RVO waits for your complete answer comes on top of the normal processing period. Answering quickly and completely is therefore in your own interest.
ON THIS PAGE
What is a WBSO information notice?
An information notice is a request from RVO for additional information needed to substantively assess your application. RVO itself speaks in the guide of posing additional questions; in practice this is often called an information notice.
The application is assessed by advisers with technical knowledge of the relevant field. When the project description or the declared costs and expenditures contain insufficient information, the adviser can ask for clarification.
Incomplete application or substantive questions?
There are two different situations that are often confused.
| Situation | What does it mean? |
|---|---|
| Application incomplete | Formal information is missing. You get one opportunity to supplement; if that does not happen in time, RVO does not process the application. |
| Additional substantive questions | The application is already under assessment. The technical adviser wants more information to determine whether R&D is involved. |
| Telephone question | The case handler wants a specific part briefly clarified. |
| Questions about costs and expenditures | RVO wants to further assess attributability, nature or scope. |
The distinction is important: with an incomplete application there is only one chance to supplement. Therefore always first check which type of request you have received.
Why does RVO ask additional questions about a WBSO application?
RVO may for example need more information about:
- the technical novelty;
- the concrete technical or programming-technical bottleneck;
- why existing knowledge or technology is insufficient;
- the intended solution directions;
- technical risks and uncertainties;
- which activities you carry out yourself;
- the role and technical knowledge of employees;
- the substantiation of the R&D hours;
- the declared costs and expenditures;
- with technical scientific research: the technical phenomenon to be explained and the research design.
Good to know: In its assessment, RVO can also consult public sources, such as your own website, business LinkedIn profiles and search results, to assess the level of knowledge and expertise present. So ensure your answer is consistent with those.
How much time do you have to respond?
Check the response date immediately in the RVO portal or the received request. The period stated there is leading — there is no general fixed response period for every information notice.
Do not wait until the last day. Technical employees often have to supply information to answer the questions properly, and that takes time. So schedule a moment internally well before the deadline with the people who carry out the work.
How do you answer a WBSO information notice?
- 1Answer each question separatelyLeave no part unanswered and refer clearly to project and question number.
- 2Name the technical problemNot only the business problem or the desired functionality.
- 3Explain why existing technology is insufficientWhat is already known or tried, and where does that technically fail?
- 4Describe your own solution directionWhat do you develop or research yourself?
- 5Name the uncertainty in advanceWhy is it not established in advance that the solution works?
- 6Substantiate your own activitiesWho carries out the technical work and what is their technical contribution?
- 7Substantiate hours and costs where RVO asks for itEnsure that estimates logically connect with the described activities.
- 8Check the coherence with the applicationThe answer must clarify what you applied for and must not create a contradictory story.
Involve your technical employees. Do not let the content be answered only by finance or the grant adviser. The people who actually carry out the technical work can usually best explain where existing technologies fall short and which solution directions are being investigated.
A functional explanation is usually not enough
Too functional
“We build a platform that can process large volumes of documents faster.”
More technical
“With datasets above roughly X documents, the existing indexing method hits memory and latency limits. We are therefore developing an alternative data structure and our own partitioning method. In advance it is uncertain whether the required response time can be achieved without loss of accuracy.”
The second answer tells four things: what technically does not work → why the existing approach falls short → what you develop yourself → where the uncertainty lies. See also technical novelty for WBSO and the WBSO project description.
Answer structure: product and process development
Above all, answer these four questions:
- What is the technical bottleneck?
- Why does known technology not work here?
- Which own technical solution directions are you investigating?
- How will you demonstrate the operating principle?
In depth: WBSO product development and WBSO process development.
Answer structure: software
For software, RVO specifically looks at the programming-technical problem:
- What is the programming-technical problem?
- Why can existing frameworks or libraries not solve this?
- Which technically new software do you develop yourself?
- In which formal programming language?
- Which technical risks exist?
In depth: WBSO software.
Answer structure: technical scientific research
With technical scientific research it is about explaining a phenomenon:
- Which technical phenomenon are you trying to explain?
- Why does existing knowledge offer no adequate explanation?
- Which research questions do you pose?
- What does the systematic research design look like?
In depth: WBSO technical scientific research.
Example: weak versus strong answer
Weak answer
“Existing systems are too slow and insufficiently flexible. That is why we develop our own solution.”
Stronger answer
“With datasets above X records, the current comparison method exceeds the maximum response time because every new input must be scored against too large a part of the dataset. Existing libraries do not solve this within our memory budget. We are therefore investigating our own partitioning structure combined with incremental scoring. In advance it is uncertain whether the required latency can be achieved without loss of match quality.”
RVO asks questions about the hours estimate
When the number of requested R&D hours seems illogical relative to the described activities, RVO can ask for further substantiation.
Then break the estimate down into technical activities, employees, project phase and period. Make clear which hours are truly technical R&D and which project management, implementation or other activities fall outside the estimate.
Questions about WBSO costs and expenditures
Insufficient information about declared costs or expenditures can also be a reason for additional questions. RVO may for example want to know:
- how a cost item is directly attributable to the R&D;
- what a business asset is used for;
- what percentage of an expenditure serves the R&D;
- why a prototype has no user value;
- how the amount was estimated.
Clarify, do not rewrite
Your answer is intended to give RVO sufficient information about the application under assessment. RVO assesses the activities for which WBSO has been requested.
Use the information notice to make the requested activities more concrete and technically clearer — not to construct a substantially different project afterwards. If the factual situation differs from what appears from the original application, explain that transparently.
Common mistakes with a WBSO information notice
What happens after you have answered the questions?
RVO resumes the substantive assessment as soon as your answer has been received in full. The adviser assesses the application in combination with the additional information and then takes a decision.
| Possible outcome | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Grant | The R&D declaration is issued as requested |
| Partial grant | One or more projects, hours or cost items are not granted or granted to a limited extent |
| Rejection | One or more projects do not meet the R&D criteria |
Do you disagree with the decision? See objecting to a WBSO decision.
How Klaren helps with additional questions from RVO
We analyse per question which assessment criterion RVO is trying to clarify. We then discuss the technology with the developers or researchers involved, structure the technical bottlenecks and solution directions, and check whether hours, roles and any costs logically connect with the original application.
The goal is not to present a different project, but to describe the factual technical content so clearly that RVO can properly assess the application.
Frequently asked questions about the WBSO information notice
What is a WBSO information notice?
Does an information notice mean my WBSO will be rejected?
Why does RVO ask additional questions?
How much time do I have to respond?
Does an information notice extend the decision period?
Can RVO ask additional questions by telephone?
Must I involve my technical employees?
What happens after answering?
Have you received additional questions from RVO?
We assess the questions, discuss the technical content with your developers and help draft a concrete and consistent answer within the set period.
SOURCES AND SUBSTANTIVE REVIEW
Reviewed by Peter Klaren, WBSO specialist since 2004. Last substantively updated: 21 September 2026.