CWI is funded for 70 percent by NWO, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research. The remaining 30 percent is obtained through national and international programmes and contract research commissioned by industry.

CWI is one of the founding members of the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics, ERCIM. ERCIM comprises research institutes in 17 different European countries with altogether more than 10,000 active researchers in the fields of computer science and applied mathematics. ERCIM plays an important role in identifying and coordinating research activities in these areas on a European scale. CWI also participates in the Telematics Institute and cooperates with many companies, universities and technological institutes.