Cultural policy
The cultural policy of governments contributes to the preservation, development and distribution of arts and culture, at both national and international level. Subsidies are the most common means that are used to achieve this, but this also includes tax measures and legislation and regulations, such as high and low VAT rates and the Gift and Inheritance Tax Act (Geefwet). In this way, cultural policy influences both subsidised and unsubsidised organisations in various sectors.
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Guiding principles
The guiding principles and assessment criteria of the Dutch central government’s cultural policy are laid down every four years. Important principles for 2025-2028 include fair pay and confidence in the cultural sector. Artistic and substantive quality, social significance, accessibility and geographical distribution are important assessment criteria. In addition, endorsement of the Fair Practice Code, Cultural Governance Code and the Diversity & Inclusion Code is a subsidy requirement.
Central and regional governments
All governments formulate their own cultural policy. At central government level, a distinction is made between institutions that are part of the cultural basic infrastructure (BIS) and those that are not. The BIS is directly financed by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and includes the cultural funds, sectoral bodies and institutions that are of national importance according to the government. Many cultural institutions that do not belong to the BIS receive a subsidy from one of the six (BIS) government funds: Performing Arts Fund NL, Netherlands Film Fund, Cultural Participation Fund, Creative Industries Fund NL, Dutch Foundation for Literature and Mondriaan Fund. There is more emphasis at provincial and municipal level on the regional and local cultural policy, and facilities like cultural education and amateur arts.
Funding of the cultural policy
Politics determines how much government money is made available to fund the cultural policy. This occurs at a central government level, as well as within provinces and municipalities. Governments and funds subsequently ask independent advisers to assess the quality of subsidy applications. They offer advice on awards to specific institutions, projects, companies and artists.
Expenditure at a central government level is often extensively discussed in the media. However, the subsidies granted by the central government are roughly just 30% of the total number of subsidies. Municipalities together grant the majority, namely 60%, of all cultural subsidies. The provinces grant a combined shared of 10%.
Media policy
A separate policy for the media (radio and TV broadcasters, newspapers and internet) has been drawn up by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. This media policy ensures that the media in the Netherlands form a varied range of radio and television stations, that they can work independently and are accessible to everyone.
In addition, the government ensures that the media is used in a responsible manner. The European Audiovisual Media Services Directive and the Media Act form the basis of the media policy. The Dutch Media Authority is the regulator of the Dutch audiovisual media services on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
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