1- and 2-year Activities Programme Grant Scheme 2023–2024 open: How to support cultural institutions after two years of Covid-19?

Today, the Fund is publishing the 1 and 2-year activities programme Grant Scheme for the period 2023-2024. The main modification is that the application for a two-year activities programme for 2023-2024 is only possible for the seven institutions that were also supported for two years in 2021-2022. Of course, the option of submitting an application for a 1-year activities programme for 2023 is open to all parties. Additional budget will also be made available for this. Executive director Syb Groeneveld explains the reasons for this choice.

30 June 2022

During working visits in the past two months to the 1, 2 and 4-year institutions supported by the Fund, I heard how they are doing after two years of the pandemic and what they expect from the Fund. These discussions and the recent advice from the Council for Culture to the State Secretary for Culture Gunay Uslu: Extension gives cultural institutions time to recover, have convinced me that a modified grant scheme for the Fund’s 1 and 2-year activities programme for the years 2023 and 2024 is the best choice for this moment. I have two main reasons for this modification.

1. Consequences Covid-19

As a result of Covid-19 and the subsequent restrictive measures, the seven institutions that have received 2-year support from the Fund since 2021 have to a significant extent been unable to carry out their activities programme. The programmes that did go ahead were mostly implemented in a modified form and parts will be postponed until 2023. As a result, it is not possible to properly assess the performance achieved in 2021 and 2022. That is why I am extending the Ministry of OCW’s leniency policy regarding the 4-year institutions supported in the period 2021-2024 to this group of 2-year institutions.

2. Peace in the sector

State Secretary Gunay Uslu will not respond to the recommendation for the extension and adjustment of the cultural system until after the summer. At the moment, however, it seems a realistic option that the composition of the institutions that together make up the BIS after 2024 will remain unchanged for two or even four years. However, for both the 1-year supported institutions and the 2-year supported institutions, 2022 is definitely the year to restart the public activities. By opening the 2-year round exclusively to these seven institutions, we create peace and clarity for the institutions. After all, the 2-year institutions that receive support know where they stand at an early stage. For the other institutions, there is of course the possibility to apply for a 1-year activities programme for 2023 and next year for 2024. For this round, I will increase the maximum annual amount that can be applied for by 15% to € 115,000. The range of the subsidy for a one-year activities programme is then € 50,000 – € 115,000. The total available budget for the 1-year programmes (subsidy ceiling) will be increased by € 250,000 to € 1,750,000.

In summary, these are the main principles for the limited opening of the 2-year-support grant scheme:

  1. Only the seven institutions supported by the Fund in the period 2021-2022 can submit a 2-year application for 2023-2024.
  2. These institutions write a concise programme proposal that specifically addresses the implementation of the Fair Practice Code, the Diversity and Inclusion Code and the Governance Code of Culture.
  3. The seven institutions can submit a proposal for an amount up to the budget requested for the period 2021-2022, plus the interim wage & price adjustment.
  4. The assessment of the 2-year applications is done internally.
  5. The 1-year activities programme grant scheme is open in the same way as in 2021.
  6. The available budget for the 1-year programmes will be increased by € 250,000 to € 1,750,000.

You can see the new, modified grant scheme and the conditions for 1-year support of an activities programme here. The closing date of the grant scheme is 28 September 2022.

other application options for institutions

The Fund offers more options for supporting design platforms and is giving an impulse to a more robust, multi-perspective design field with two open calls this autumn. Check out:

  • Open Call Platforms for design-based learning for workshops, labs and other alternative, informal platforms that encourage practical skills and design strategies in young talent and connect them with professionals in the design field. Deadline 1 September.
  • Open Call Reasearch, Act & Reflect: aimed at grassroots platforms, collectives and organizations whose activities contribute to a more diverse and inclusive creative industry. Do you contribute to the design field from this position, or do you question the existing frames within the design field? This open call is expected in November.