NWO, the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, is the national research council of the Netherlands located in The Hague. An independent organization, NWO, has a legally defined task to promote scientific research at Dutch universities and research institutes and to raise the quality of that research in all scientific disciplines. NWO is a largely decentralized organization governed by a General Board consisting of senior Dutch researchers. NWO comprises seven disciplinary research councils and various thematic steering bodies, each with its own governing board and supporting secretariat. The General Board and councils are supported by several central departments, e.g. for national policy and for international relations. Innovation by open, competitive funding is a key element in NWO activities. Different ministries contribute to the annual budget of approximately 625 M€, with core funding provided by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.