use the power of design

The Netherlands faces a number of complex issues, ranging from the necessary energy transition and the ageing society, to the shortage of suitable and affordable housing and making agriculture more sustainable. Tackling these themes requires the ability to change. The power of imagination is essential for this. The Fund wants to make commissioning parties aware of the added value designers have. We are dedicated to an integral approach and a long-term collaboration between the creative industry and relevant partners in other fields, such as the energy, healthcare or construction sectors and for the interactive exchange of knowledge. We do this through programmes and open calls.

relevant partners

To effectively promote an integral approach and interdisciplinary collaboration between different fields, the Fund works with relevant partners within the design sector and outside it, such as the Netherlands Association of Senior Secondary Vocational Schools, Aedes-Actiz for senior housing and VNG (Association of Netherlands Municipalities). The collaboration with Agis Innovation Fund has already led to the development of a hybrid form of support for designers and collaborative parties in the field of healthcare and health. Cooperation partners like this play a big part in involving commissioning parties and in strengthening their capacity for learning by facilitating the mutual exchange of knowledge.

research by design

Designers often apply research by design in interdisciplinary coalition processes. This method pre-eminently aims at bringing together the world of systems and the social and physical world. Research by design answers the question of how you can realize co-creation with those involved, such as civilians, entrepreneurs, experts, organizations and government bodies. This process helps to focus on the challenges, to clarify lines of thought, consider and connect interests, to organize support and to initiate new collaborations, creating scope for integral future perspectives and possible solutions, but also for new insights into policy-making by governments and market participants.

programmes and open calls

With the Spatial Design Action Programme 2021-2024, we are currently working on an integral approach to complex transition challenges. As one of the implementing partners, the Creative Industries Fund NL is responsible for stimulating regional and local initiatives. To achieve this, the Fund annually organizes two open calls, offering interdisciplinary coalitions the opportunity to research how substantial spatial transition processes can be tackled and the spatial quality of the Netherlands can be improved, based on an integral design approach. The (interim) results can be viewed on platform De nieuwe ruimte [The New Space].

In order to stimulate new forms of commissioning and work on spatial transition challenges, we also organized eight open calls in 2021 within the Spatial Design Voucher Scheme. In the 2017-2020 period, the Fund implemented three programmes in the context of the Spatial Design Activities Programme, aimed at engaging designers in researching the quality of our environment, namely Innovative Forms of Commissioning, Healthcare Setting and Educational Environment. In addition to these programmes, we ran the Heritage and Space Design Programme in 2017 and 2018.