8.2 COVID-19 Crisis

In all, €400,000 of the earmarked NPO funding from the national government in 2021 (€3.2 million) for research delays, catching up on delays and supporting instruction, student counseling, and teacher training (internships) was spent. The remainder (€2.8 million) has been put on the balance sheet as income received in advance for use after 2021. Through the NPO, Tilburg University received €6.2 million in accelerated compensation for student growth in 2021.

­

Out-of-pocket expenses:

• The impact of COVID-19 on expenses incurred was significantly lower in 2021 than it had been in 2020: out-of-pocket costs (distributed among various items in the table below) amounted to €1.4 million, as compared to €2.2 million in 2020.

­

The influence of the restrictive measures was as follows:

• Fewer activities and events were organized, resulting in lower costs.

• Schools reported that job vacancies were difficult to fill. It was particularly difficult to recruit staff from abroad was difficult.

• Significant investments were made in additional staff for the development of online instruction and the organization of examinations.

• General costs (e.g., for representation, coffee facilities, and printing) were much lower.

• Employees travelled much less in the first half of 2021.

• Sales of sports subscriptions dropped sharply.

• Less leave was taken, resulting in a higher allocation to leave provision.

On balance, the windfalls (including the earmarked NPO funds) and setbacks had a result effect of +€6.7 million. This is broken down in the following table:

Table 8.4 Estimated impact of COVID-19, financial year 2021 (in €1,000)