As an mbo or a cultural institution, do you want to work together to promote the cultural development of students? Then perhaps this scheme is for you. In an initial collaboration and introduction, you develop a contemporary cultural offering that suits the needs and life-worlds of mbo students. You do this in co-creation for and with students. The project also provides them with the opportunity to experiment freely.

Who can apply?

You can apply for a grant as a non-profit mbo institution based in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, or as a non-profit cultural institution.

Who can't apply?

Unfortunately, this scheme is not open to creative studies, but aims to reach students who have little or no contact with culture during their studies. Specifically the following studies are excluded:

• Media and Design, main group code HG009
• Performing Arts courses, professional training code BC283
• The following courses on craft techniques :
  • Goldsmiths and silversmiths, professional training code SBB BC072
  • Creative craftsmanship, professional training code SBB BC294
  • Collection management, professional training code SBB BC294

What can you apply for?

You apply for a cultural education project, resulting in contemporary offerings that connect with the students and stimulate their cultural development. There is equal collaboration between an MBO institution, a local cultural institution and MBO students. You collaborate with local partners to allow students to become familiar with their cultural environment. Competence building may be necessary for the development and execution of this project. This makes your project even more future-proof. You also offer room for a cultural experiment by students, in which they are responsible for the creation and implementation of a cultural education project. The experiences gained by the students can be applied as important information to further develop the programme. If you see opportunities to connect the offerings you develop for the students with extracurricular activities, we would welcome it.

What does the Fund look out for?

To help you with your application and to facilitate the process, we have created a format for your project plan. You can use this as a framework to describe your plan. We have also made a format for the budget and the collaboration agreement, which we advise you to use. This page is a summary of the complete legal regulation. Would you like to apply? Then make sure you have also read the full version of the scheme. A text version is available here that only includes the relevant parts. You will find all the documents mentioned here in the grey box under 'Documents'. These documents are only available in Dutch.

The criteria are briefly described below.

• Aim | Will the new collaboration initiative in co-creation lead to high-quality contemporary offerings that meet the needs of MBO students? Does the project promote the cultural capabilities of the students in line with the MBO's citizenship mission? Is the choice and added value of the collaboration clear? How does equal opportunity play a role in the project?
• Collaboration | Is it an equivalent collaboration venture with sufficient impact? Is the division of tasks and roles between the MBO institution, cultural institution, students and any other parties clear and logical? Also make clear in your application how students would collaborate on the project.
• Content & organisation | Does your application contain a clear and realistic plan with a clear and feasible planning? Is your budget reasonable and consistent with the activities? 

Practical conditions

• Applications are processed in order of receipt until the budget limit has been reached. So do not wait too long to apply.
• Your project may only start once the Fund announces that you have been awarded a grant. This takes a maximum of 13 weeks.
• You start within 6 months after submitting your application.
• Your project should last for a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 2 years.
• Each MBO institution may only be involved in one project. This way we also ensure a good distribution of projects.
• The grant is intended only for a new collaboration between an MBO and a local cultural institution; existing collaborations are not eligible for a grant.
• You must apply the three cultural codes as described in Article 1.4 of the grant regulation.
• The grant will not exceed 50% of the total project costs in the European part of the Netherlands and 80% in other parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. 
  • The remaining funding of the project may consist of up to 50% of capitalised hours.

This scheme closes on 2 February 2024, at 13:00 CET, or earlier if the budget limit has been reached. The scheme's total budget is €2 million.

Alignment with compulsory components

Cultural education does not yet have a fixed place in curriculums everywhere. It is also important to take into account the students' lives outside school. To ensure that cultural education is accessible to all students, we recommend that you align as much as possible with compulsory components such as citizenship, electives, career guidance (LOB) and Dutch. These subjects will help develop 21st century skills such as critical thinking, communication and collaboration. This all contributes to talent development, creativity development and citizenship education. In addition, cultural education is an excellent way of connecting to current social issues, or the students’ future occupations.