Open Call Resilient Communities / Inclusive Cities / Just Societies

The Creative Industries Fund NL aims to connect, and to stimulate equitable collaboration and exchange, between the creative sectors in the Netherlands and in countries and regions in Africa. Designers, makers and architects are being asked to put current themes and issues in relation to the city, its surroundings and the communities residing there, on the agenda.

This open call covers on countries in Africa that fall within the Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Proposals can be submitted by professional designers (designer, architect or maker), observers, platforms, organizations or collectives that are related to the fields of design, architecture or digital culture and who enter into an equal collaboration with local parties who want to use design for more resilient communities, inclusive cities and just societies in Africa. The applicant is registered in the Commercial Register of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce or in one of the Chambers of Commerce that fall within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

who is not able to apply?
Within this open call, grants are not awarded to institutions that have a structural grant relationship with the Dutch Government or that have received a grant from the Fund under the Four-Year Institutional Grant Scheme for the Creative Industry 2021–2024.

Applications can be submitted for projects where there is a collaboration with local partners in one or more of the following countries: Benin, Burundi, Ethiopia, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Uganda, Senegal, Tunisia and South Africa. The local partners are professional designers, architects, makers, observers, collectives, platforms or other cultural organizations within the creative industry.

Project proposals can be submitted in various forms, ranging from artistic research or research by design to implementing an intervention, popular initiative or programme. Any approach is possible, as long as it can be linked to the open call’s theme and the results will be made accessible to the public.

Please note: applications that are submitted for projects in African countries and regions for which, at that time, negative travel advice is in force (colour coded red or orange) cannot be processed. Consult in advance here.

In order to prepare the application, it is important to acquire the right information based on the following documents:

Grant Application Guidelines
The Grant Application Guidelines provide guidance and tips on preparing a grant application. You can use them to draw up your application as completely as possible.

Open Call Resilient Communities / Inclusive Cities / Just Societies
Applications are assessed on the basis of the Open Call Resilient Communities / Inclusive Cities / Just Societies, which describes the reason and objective, design challenges, phases, criteria and procedures.

Open Call Grant Scheme
Applications are also assessed on the basis of the Open Call Grant Scheme, which describes the general conditions, grounds for rejection, manner of publication, submission procedure, assessment, the award and any grant obligations. For this open call, Article 4(1)(d) of the Fund’s Open Call Grant Scheme does not apply. Instead, the project must demonstrate that there is an equal interest between the partners/parties involved in the one (or more) countries mentioned above.

Grant applications will be submitted for assessment to external independent advisors on the following criteria:
- relevance of the selected topic within the open call’s theme;
- plan of action;
- the set-up of the collaboration.

acceptance
When you have submitted your application, the Fund Desk will check if your application complies with the formal requirements of the Open Call Grant Scheme.

assessment
An independent advisory committee will assess your application on the basis of the Open Call Grant Scheme and the Open Call Resilient Communities / Inclusive Cities / Just Societies. The committee advises the Fund’s Board.

decision
The Board takes account of the committee’s advice in its decision on the rejection or provision of the grant. You will be notified about the result in a decision.

accountability
If you receive a grant from the Fund, then you will have to comply with the obligations. Two weeks before the conclusion of your project, you will be asked by email to submit your accountability form in the application environment.

Open Call Resilient Communities / Inclusive Cities / Just Societies
Open Call Grant Scheme
Grant Application Guidelines
FAQ Open Call Resilient Communities / Inclusive Cities / Just Societies