Research and development (R&D)

Definition

Research and development (S&O) is the type of work covered by the WBSO, for which you can receive reimbursement for R&D hours and costs. It covers developing technically new software, products or production processes, or carrying out technical-scientific research — always involving technical uncertainty about the outcome. RVO assesses an application using four questions you must answer for each project: what are you developing or researching, why is this technically new for your company, which technical problems do you expect, and how do you intend to solve them? Only when there is a genuine technical development challenge — not the routine application of existing technology — does the work qualify as R&D. Software development and AI/machine-learning projects form a large and growing share of WBSO applications, provided there is genuine technical uncertainty, for example a new algorithm or a model with uncertain feasibility; merely applying an existing model or an AI API generally does not qualify. Technical novelty and technical uncertainty together are the core conditions that determine whether work qualifies as R&D.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as research and development (S&O) work?

R&D covers developing technically new software, products or production processes, or carrying out technical-scientific research, always involving technical uncertainty about the outcome.

Does software development qualify as R&D?

Software development qualifies when there is genuine technical uncertainty, such as a new algorithm or model; simply applying existing technology or an AI API generally does not qualify.

How does RVO assess whether work qualifies as R&D?

RVO assesses four questions per project: what you are developing, why it is technically new for your company, which technical problems you expect, and how you intend to solve them.