Deadline: 28-Aug-2025
The Creative Industries Fund NL is seeking applications for its Architecture Grant Scheme to contribute the quality, development or deepening of the architecture field in its broadest sense.
The grant scheme’s general policy objectives are to promote design quality and its development, stimulate experimentation, research, reflection and debate, and promote the use of powerful design within social issues.
Based on this scheme, Creative Industries Fund NL may subsidize projects by architects, observers, design agencies, and cultural institutions or organizations with a grant request from €10,000 to a maximum of €50,000. The grant period budget is €385,000, with a total of €1,155,000 available for the entire scheme. A grant is always awarded under the condition that sufficient funds are made available to the Creative Industries Fund NL by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Projects must be primarily non-profit and contribute to strengthening the quality, development or deepening of the architecture field from one or more creative industry disciplines.
The application process has two phases. A summary application is submitted in Phase I. This application must be completed on the designated form and includes the basic details of the applicant, a brief project summary, the project’s positioning within the architecture field, a digitally authenticated extract from a Business Register, and CVs of the main players or a mission description. Applications are reviewed against the entry requirements and in order of receipt. The board will reject applications that are incomplete, not submitted within the relevant grant period, or do not meet the entry requirements.
Applicants who are selected in Phase I will receive an invitation to complete their application for Phase II within four weeks of the announcement of the selection. A complete application for Phase II includes a project plan, a balanced budget, a timetable, a communications plan, CVs of all those implementing the project, a relevant portfolio, and letters of intent if applicable. These applications are submitted to an independent advisory committee for review. The advisory committee advises the board on which applicants should be awarded grants based on several equally important criteria: the significance of the chosen theme or question, the design quality of the project, the extent to which the project is effective in terms of design, methodology and expertise, the support for the project, and the extent to which the project contributes to a more diverse and equal design sector. The board shall inform the applicant of its decision in writing within 11 weeks of the final submission date for Phase II.
Grant recipients must submit an accountability form on the Creative Industries Fund NL application platform no later than 16 weeks after the conclusion of the project. For grants between €10,000 and €25,000, a financial report may be requested on a sample basis. For grants between €25,000 and €50,000, a financial report with a specification of each item is required. Grant recipients must retain their administration and associated documents for seven years after the grant has been determined. An interested party may object to a decision of the board by submitting an appeal within six weeks of the decision date.
A grant may be awarded only if the applicant is a designer, maker, observer, design agency, organisation or cultural institution that demonstrably positions themselves within the architecture field. Additionally, the applicant must be listed in the Business Register of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce or in one of the Business Registers within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Applicants are not permitted to submit more than one application under this scheme per grant period. Furthermore, applicants cannot receive a grant under this scheme more than once per calendar year, with the exception of publishers and producers.
Those not eligible for funding include applicants financed through the Grant Scheme for Basic Cultural Infrastructure 2025-2028, with the exception of regional and heritage museums within the creative industry, and those financed through another structural grant from the central government. Applicants who, for the duration of the project, receive a grant from the Creative Industries Fund NL under the Four-year Institutional Grant Scheme 2025-2028 or the Creative Industry Activities Programme Grant Scheme are also not eligible. Educational and post-academic institutions, as well as projects by researchers and lecturers carried out from within these institutions, are excluded from funding. Additionally, applications for educational programs and related activities of educational institutions are not eligible. Applications for costs covering participation in residencies at institutions excluded from this scheme are also not eligible. The scheme excludes applicants who, at the time of application, are affiliated with a post-academic institution excluded from this grant scheme. Applications for projects which, at the time of application, already have a pending application within another Creative Industries Fund NL grant scheme are ineligible.
When assessing applications for a project grant, the advisory committee uses five criteria of equal importance. These criteria are: the significance of the chosen theme or question for the field, the design quality of the project, the extent to which the project is effective in terms of design, methodology, and expertise, the support for the project, which can be shown through partner involvement, expected audience reach, and co-financing, and the extent to which the project contributes to a more diverse and equal design sector. Only positively assessed applications are eligible for a grant. If the number of eligible applications exceeds the available budget, prioritization occurs based on the scores from these criteria, creating a ranking. The highest-ranking applications are awarded the amount recommended by the advisory committee. If an application would cause the grant ceiling to be exceeded, the applicant is awarded the remaining funds, but only if it is at least 50% of the requested amount. If applications have an equal average final score, priority is given to the highest score on the “significance of the chosen theme” criterion.
For more information, visit Creative Industries Fund NL.
