KONINKLIJKE NEDERLANDSE AKADEMIE VAN WETEN SCHAPPEN

Institution founded in 1808 by King Louis Napoleon. Its statutory purpose is to promote the natural sciences (section Natuurkunde) and the humanities (section Let terkunde). Only a limited number of scientists and scholars are chosen as (corresponding) members. The KNAW’s activities include, among others, the publication of scientific papers and the direction of many research institutes (e.g., the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation [NIOD] in Amsterdam, the Huygens Institute in The Hague, and the Fryske Akademy in Leeuwarden). Since the 1980s, the KNAW has accepted more bureaucratic and controlling tasks, such as the “quality assessment” of research conducted at universities.