Strategy Towards Checkout: ROMs Join Forces for Future Revenue Potential

The regional strengthening plan aligns seamlessly with the action agendas of the Knowledge and Innovation Agendas (KIA) presented on Monday, January 26. It connects the technology of the National Technology Strategy to concrete growth markets. The goal is to strengthen the competitive position of the Netherlands and allow technological startups and scale-ups to develop into tomorrow's market leaders.

With the presentation of the Regional Strengthening Plan for the National Technology Strategy, technology is linked to growth markets.

In the photo from left to right: Robbert Koldenhof (Director LIOF), Martijn van Gruijthuijsen (Deputy Economy, Talent Development & Finance at the Province of North Brabant - on behalf of IPO), Meindert Stolk (Deputy for the Province of South Holland - on behalf of IPO), Erwin Nijsse (Director-General Business and Innovation Ministry of Economic Affairs), Wendy de Jong (Director Oost NL and Chair of ROM-Nederland), Erwin Hoogland (Deputy Overijssel - on behalf of IPO) and Sandor Gaastra (Secretary-General Ministry of Economic Affairs).

Response to Wennink Report

The plan directly fulfills the recent call in the report by Wennink ('The Route to Future Prosperity', December 2025). Wennink advocates for strong regional clusters and a focus on strategic niches to make the national strategy successful.

The RV-NTS is not a policy document. It is an implementation plan. Over the past year, the ROMs have conducted interviews with more than 750 innovative companies. Their input on concrete bottlenecks in financing, regulation, and the labor market forms the foundation of this implementation plan.

“The analysis has been made, the strategy is in place. Now it’s time for execution,” says Wendy de Jong, director of Oost NL and chair of ROM-Nederland. “Technology is great, but without customers, financing, and supply chains, there’s no business. With this plan, we connect the technological strength of the Netherlands to the commercial capabilities of the region. We are moving from 'policy' to 'business.'”

Erwin Nijsse: “I find it a compelling example where the collective ROMs have cleverly combined their expertise and strengths from their 3 I’s (innovate, internationalize, invest) into one national plan. It concretely outlines how they collectively want to contribute to a number of important value chains in the Netherlands. It fits well with Wennink's message. To make Wennink succeed, our collaboration is crucial.”

Meindert Stolk, representing IPO, adds: “With this regional strengthening plan, the National Technology Strategy gains substance in the regions. It provides a practical basis for collaborating with the ROMs and businesses to implement provincial economic policy.”

5 Strategic Priorities for Interregional Collaboration

To prevent fragmentation and to create immediate impact, the ROMs are choosing a sharp focus in their interregional collaboration. In the context of the new industry policy focused on six strategic growth markets, the ROMs have decided to fully consolidate their efforts and resources over the next two years on five absolute priorities where the Netherlands can make a significant difference internationally:

• Deeptech: Semiconductors, Quantum, and Photonics
• Life Sciences & Health (LSH): MedTech and Regenerative Medicine
• Autonomous Production: Robotics and Smart Factories
• Green Chemistry: Circular Materials and Sustainability of the Chemical Industry
• Protein Transition (Future Food): from Precision Fermentation to Field Beans

Call to Entrepreneurs

The handover marks the start of implementation. This spring, the project teams will seek collaboration with the market for each value chain to make the plans concrete.

To kickstart the discussion, the ROMs have translated the policy plans into clear market propositions per sector. This is not a fixed plan but a concrete offer that serves as a starting point for collaboration.

Entrepreneurs can register via the ROM-Nederland website. They will then receive this proposition for their market and will be approached to help build the plans for the coming years.