Scout nights 2023

For designers and makers who have developed professionally in practice or have completed MBO education in a design direction and want to apply for a grant from the Talent Development Grant Scheme.

closed

closing date passed

€ 1,000

grant amount

€ 25,000

grant Talent Development Grant Scheme

Important information

who are the scout nights intended for?

The scout nights take place within the frameworks of the Talent Development Grant Scheme and are for designers and makers who have not completed a design or architecture course at college or university level in the Netherlands or abroad. In this way, the Fund enables designers and makers from different social, economic and cultural backgrounds to further artistically develop and professionalize their design practice.

The scout nights are open to makers who have an individual practice or work as a collective and work within the (sub)disciplines of design, architecture or digital culture or a crossover between these. Practices on the borders of the disciplines are also welcome, such as street art, art direction and styling.

Read the Talent Development Grant Scheme for conditions and restrictions.

what can a grant be applied for?

Through the scout nights, you can apply to the Talent Development Grant Scheme for a grant of € 25,000. The grant allows you to invest for a year in the development of your practice.

The grant consists of three parts:
- one freely disposable part intended for your own artistic and professional development;
- one part for the professionalization of your personal practice;
- one part for presentation purposes.

what are the stages of the selection procedure?

The selection for a grant is made in two phases.

scout nights
The initial selection through the scout nights is made on the basis of a live pitch. To join the scout nights, submit an application form, CV, portfolio and a short video via the online application environment. Please note that accounts for this can be created until 27 January 2023. A maximum of 15 designers and makers can make a pitch per scout night. Applicants will be notified no later than two weeks before the scout nights whether they will be allowed to pitch. Selection for participation is done by the scout of the respective city based on the Talent Development Grant Scheme.

second selection phase
If you are selected during the scout nights, you will receive € 1,000 for drawing up a development plan. The development plan will form the core of your application in the second selection phase, which takes place through the Talent Development Grant Scheme. The advisory committee of the Talent Development Grant Scheme will make the final selection based on the development plans. The selected designers and makers will receive the grant of € 25,000.

how do you prepare an application?

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

Talent Development Guidelines Scout nights
For your application in the scout nights, we will ask you to answer three motivation questions in the application form. Together, these answers form your motivation letter. You may answer these in writing or in a video. You get a maximum of 200 words per motivation question. Do you opt for answering the questions in a video? Then it should not be longer than three minutes. You can take a look at the questions in the Talent Development Guidelines Scout nights.

The guidelines also provide you an explanation of the motivation questions and of the assessment criteria and tips on preparing your grant application. You can use it for drawing up your application as completely as possible.

Talent Development Grant Scheme

The assessment of applications takes place on the basis of the Talent Development Grant Scheme. This describes the conditions, criteria and objectives.

what is assessed?

Each scout night has its own jury, consisting of three members. The composition of the juries will be announced to participants after the closing date, as will the pitch locations. The juries will make the selection during the scout nights based on the criteria below:

assessment criteria scout nights

- the quality of the applicant’s work;
- environmental awareness and positioning;
- development capability;
- the extent to which the applicant’s practice can potentially be seen as distinctive within the creative industry.

The criteria are explained in the Talent Development Guidelines Scout nights.

ranking

If, based on their average score, applications end up on an equal ranking position, and the available number of grants in the first phase is exceeded with these applications, these applications will be ranked as follows:
- First, prioritization is based on the awarded score on the ‘quality of the work’ criterion.
- Next, prioritization is based on ‘degree of contribution to greater diversity and inclusion within the design field’.

If you also like to know in advance on the basis of which criteria the applications will be assessed in the second selection phase, please take a look at the Talent Development Grant Scheme.

where do the scout nights take place and who are the scouts?

We organize five scout nights across the country:
- region North: Zwolle 2 March 2023
- region Middle: Amsterdam on 13 March 2023
- region Middle: Utrecht on 7 March 2023
- region South: Rotterdam on 28 February 2023
- region South: Eindhoven on 9 March 2023

Scout nights are private and each pitch location has its own scout. If you have any questions, please contact scoutnights@stimuleringsfonds.nl. These are:
- Philip van Vorstenbosch, Zwolle
- Wouter Pocornie, Amsterdam
- Shirin Mirachor, Rotterdam
- Dina Ziad, Utrecht
- Glenda Pattipeilohy, Eindhoven

Click here for an impression of the scout nights.

what happens to your application?

acceptance
When you have submitted your application, the Fund Desk will check if your application complies with the formal requirements of the Talent Development Grant Scheme. If you qualify for the scout nights, you will receive more information by e-mail about the scout nights and how to prepare for them. If anything is incomplete or unclear, we will contact you.

assessment
Applications in the scout nights are assessed by the juries on the basis of the Talent Development Grant Scheme.

ranking
Applications received will be ranked according to the scores allotted to them by the advisory committee. The number of grants available determines whether or not your application belongs to the selection. Only positively assessed applications will be supported.

If, based on their average score, applications end up on an equal ranking position, and the available number of grants in the first phase is exceeded with these applications, these applications will be ranked as follows:
- First, prioritization is based on the awarded score on the ‘quality of the work’ criterion.
- Next, prioritization is based on ‘degree of contribution to greater diversity and inclusion within the design field’.

desicion
The result of the scout nights will be announced the same day. You will be notified of the result by means of a decision. For individual feedback, you can contact the Fund.

The final selection in the second phase, which is through the Talent Development Grant Scheme, will be announced in August 2023. All applicants in this phase will receive individual feedback.

accountability
If you receive a grant from the Fund, then you will have to comply with the obligations. At the end of your development year, you will receive an e-mail request to submit your justification via the application environment.

downloads

Talent Development Grant Scheme
Talent Development Guidelines Scout Nights

Please note: The grant scheme refers to rounds. Round 1 is for designers and makers who have professionally developed without having completed a design or architecture course at college or university level. Round 2 are the Scout Nights 2023. And round 3 is the second selection phase.

How to achieve a convincing application?

Steps to take

Do you want to apply for a subsidy under this grant scheme?

Start your application
do you have any questions?

If some of the information is not clear, email your question to our colleagues of the Talent Development Grant Scheme. You can also call on 010 436 16 00. If you have a more general question, have a look at our frequently asked questions first.