Please note: the International Collaborative Projects with Heritage Institutes application round with a deadline of 22 May falls under the old scheme. The application round with deadline 4 September follows the new scheme for the 2025-2028 policy plan period, which will be published on this page in June.
For whom
Cultural heritage institutions from the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom that want to collaborate with foreign heritage institutions in research projects in joint areas of collection.
The Mondriaan Fund offers International Collaborative Projects with Heritage Institutes grants to stimulate and improve the visibility of research and new insights in the cultural heritage field. Such grants are to support projects in which Dutch and international heritage institutions collaborate in internationally significant fields covered by both of their collections.
For what
For Dutch cultural heritage institutions to collaborate with foreign cultural heritage institutions in research projects in fields covered by both of their collections. The grant may also be requested for the development phase of the project, for example to pay for the travel and accommodation expenses incurred by researchers and curators, and towards the costs of presenting the study results in the Netherlands.
The objective is to promote new insights, research and international collaborations in the field of cultural heritage whose importance will draw international attention and which will result in a presentation.
How much
The amount of the grant will be determined per application.
Apply
Applications for a grant for International Collaborative Projects with Heritage Institutes can be submitted twice each year, using the Mondriaan Fund online application system. Deadlines for the submission in 2025 are: 22 May and 4 September, 4 P.M. (Dutch time zone) / 10 A.M. (Caribbean time zone). You first apply through the website for an account with the Mondriaan Fund, which you need in order to apply. When determining your dates, keep in mind that the processing of your application will take 3 months after the deadline. A grant cannot be awarded retroactively.
Conditions
- Grant applications may be submitted by Dutch institutions managing cultural heritage of national significance.
- In order to be eligible, such a Dutch institution must have entered into a partnership with similar cultural heritage institutions abroad.
- The proposed research project must be shown off by both the Dutch institution and its international partner/s.
- The applicant will make a significant financial contribution to the acquisition of the object itself. The grant application is more likely to be successful if the applicant has raised some funds itself by means of a crowd-funding campaign, e.g. through voordekunst.nl.
- The foreign partner’s or partners’ share of the project costs must be in acceptable proportion to the grant awarded by the Mondriaan Fund.
Assessment
All applications which satisfy all the formal requirements and which come with all the requested annexes will be presented to a committee which will issue a recommendation on the award of the Grant for International Collaborative Projects with Heritage Institutes.
A Grant for International Collaborative Projects with Heritage Institutes can only be awarded if the advisory committee issues a positive recommendation on the aforementioned interrelated criteria. Such a positive recommendation may come with a recommendation on the sum to be awarded as a grant and the term for which it will be awarded.
Due to budgetary restrictions, we are unfortunately not always able to award grants to all applications that receive positive advisories from the committee. In this case, the Mondriaan Fund Board asks the advisory committee to prioritise the positive advisories. This means that an application may receive a positive advisory, but a grant is nevertheless not awarded.
The advisory committee assesses the application on the basis of:
- A project plan explaining why the institution wishes to collaborate with the other party/parties and what the study is all about.
- A presentation plan explaining in what way the organisation seeks to attract and retain the right audience in an inspiring manner.
- A budget covering all expenses, including quotations and a statement confirming that the study cannot be funded in any other way.
- Pledges by the international organisations (and, where applicable, other Dutch organisations) that will take part in the study.
The advisory committee takes the following criteria into consideration:
The significance and quality of the (research) plan
- To what extent does the (research) plan contribute to relevant new insights within the Dutch and/or international heritage sector?
- Does the (research) plan inspire confidence that the end result will be successful and highly valuable?
Significance of the involved institutions
- Is the position of the institution(s) involved with the plan significant for contemporary visual art or cultural heritage in the Netherlands?
- To what extent does the international collaboration add value to the (research) plan?
Significance of the presentation plan (this does not apply for applications for feasibility studies)
- Will both parties make the results of the plan sufficiently visible to the envisaged audience?
- To what extent does the plan include a clear explanation of the envisaged target groups and the intentions regarding public reach?
Checklist
To process your application, The Mondriaan Fund needs information. All of this information can be submitted in the application form itself, along with documentation that you can upload. Here below is a checklist that follows the layout of the application form and contains all the information required.
Tip: collect all your information before you start filling out the online application form. Your attachments should be uploaded as PDFs. Please note: make sure that your documents meet the stated conditions. Otherwise, we will unfortunately not be able to process your request. Do not exceed the number of pages where a maximum is indicated.
Checklist
Recent and up-to-date (max. 1 year old) extract from the Chamber of Commerce register
Information about the organisation
Provide a description of the applying organisation’s activities in the past three years, including aims, target groups, collaborations and public reach.
Consent from participating international organisations
The statements of consent from the involved organisations for submitting this application. Please add all statements in one PDF.
(Research) plan
Outlining the intrinsic motivation underlying the collaboration and the research. Also mention locations (if applicable), expected number of participants/visitors, artistic responsibilities and organisational responsibilities (if applicable) involved with the project.
Presentation plan
Describe how the programme will be presented, including a communications plan outlining how an inspirational approach will be taken to reaching and engaging a suitable audience with the programme. Outline the target groups, why these target groups have been selected, and how the activities will engage these groups.
Itemised budget with financing plan
See the explanation of the budget for institutions here. The budget must be substantiated.
Letters confirming contributions from third parties
Please add all letters to one PDF.
Quotes for notable entries in the budget
Please add all relevant quotes in one PDF.
If applicable:
Bank details
We need your bank account number to transfer funds if your application is granted. If you have not previously submitted an application to the Mondriaan Fund or if the account number has changed since the previous application, please upload a recent bank statement clearly stating the name of the account holder and IBAN/bank account number of the applicant. Applicants established in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom can provide a bank statement or other document from the bank stating the name of the account holder and bank account number.
Statements of consent from participating Dutch organisations
The statements of consent from the involved organisations for submitting this application. Please add all statements in one PDF.