The Wiek van Gilst collaboration award will be presented for the fifth time next year during the DCVA-NLHI congress on June 18 and 19, 2026. The first year Wiek, as the initiator and founder of the DCVA, was the first to receive the award himself. In 2023, the Heart Tissue Bank received the award. In 2024, a total of 7 projects were nominated by different DCVA partners and Check@Home won the prize. And last year, in 2025, the award went to the CHECK-HF and TITRATE-HF initiatives and to the Delta Plan Heart Failure. We are pleased to announce that we will be presenting the award again next year.

On this page, we provide details on the criteria and categories for which we are seeking nominations. We encourage all of you to propose individuals or initiatives that you believe deserve consideration for this prestigious award.

Purpose of the Collaboration Award

• To promote collaboration broadly within the cardiovascular domain, with an emphasis on collaborations that contribute to reducing the burden of cardiovascular disease;
• To express appreciation for and encourage the initiators of exceptional collaboration projects within the DCVA;
• To further stimulate existing collaborations and initiate new collaborative opportunities.

Conditions and budget

• Projects or individuals/organizations eligible for consideration make a distinctive contribution to the ambitions of the DCVA through a unique collaboration. The initiation phase and current stage of the initiative are not specified, leaving flexibility for when the collaboration was established. The project should serve as a source of inspiration for others in the cardiovascular field, to embrace of collaboration as a powerful tool for positive change;
• Illustrative examples include successful collaboration across different healthcare sectors/organization structures, the development of multidisciplinary guidelines/standards of care, engagement of citizens/patients in healthcare organization or research, and the development of products/devices/tools;
• The award includes a grant of €10,000 to be used for fostering networks, collaboration (e.g., meetings, mini-symposiums), promoting existing collaborations, or stimulating new partnerships. Initiatives should provide a proposal in the application form, outlining how their plans contribute to these goals and how the financial aspect will be addressed;
• If there are any inquiries about the suitability of a nomination, contact can be made through info@dcvalliance.nl

Procedure and Selection

• All partners of the DCVA can nominate initiatives;
• Initiatives previously nominated may also be re-nominated;
• The DCVA has established a committee for this purpose. Similar to the previous year, this committee will compile a top 3 from the nominated initiatives. The top 3 will be informed in April and will give a short pitch during the DCVA/NLHI congress on June 18-19, 2026. At the congress, the winner will be chosen and the award will be presented. It is anticipated that a representative of the initiative will be present at the congress;
• All partners of the DCVA and the nominees are welcome to attend the congress.

Deadline

This call for nominations is authorized for dissemination among the members of every DCVA partner. Individuals or initiatives may be nominated by DCVA partners until Sunday, March 1, 2026. Nominations should be submitted by email, using the completed form, to info@dcvalliance.nl.