Academy incentive programmes include various travel and work bursaries and project grants. These programmes are mostly financed from the private funds of the Academy, consisting of donations and legacies. Examples include the Statesman Thorbecke Fund and the Medical Sciences Fund. The Academy Early Career Partnerships, interdisciplinary explorations for and by researchers at the start of their careers, are made possible by the Academy Fund.
In addition, the Academy manages the funds of five foundations which it also supports organisationally, including the E.W. Beth Foundation and the Dobberke Foundation for Comparative Psychology.
The Academy sees awards as an important means to stimulate pioneering scientific research and to reward scientists and give them a platform.
In total, the Academy presents more than twenty scientific awards, either on its own initiative or in collaboration with others. The awards cover a wide range of scientific disciplines and are intended for scientists at various stages of their careers.
The Academy's own awards are the Academy Medal, the Academy Early Career Award and the Academy Education Prize for the best school research projects (pre-university level). Jointly awarded prizes include the Dr. Hendrik Muller Prize for Humanities and Social Sciences and the Instituut Gak-KNAW Award.
For a number of other prizes the Academy is responsible only for the nomination and jury process.
The Academy has a code of conduct for boards, juries and committees that assess and decide on the granting of prizes, funds and memberships by the Academy. The purpose of the code is to ensure transparency and to avoid any semblance of a conflicts of interests.