Nordic Culture Fund announces Opstart Programme

Opstart is designed to give collaborative projects in the arts and culture a good start.

Funding Information

• Opstart grants are for max. DKK 25,000. There is no requirement for co-financing of Opstart.
• Project period
  • You can only apply for funding for activities that take place after you have received a decision from the Nordic Culture Fund. The project can start 20 workdays after the application date.
  • The project should be completed within one year of the project’s start date. Please contact the secretariat if a granted project cannot be finalized within the planned time frame.

Criteria

• The programme supports projects with concrete ambitions to develop cooperation across the Nordic countries. At least two partners from two different Nordic countries must have confirmed and described their interest in participating in the project before applying. If there are partners from only two different Nordic countries participating in the Opstart project, one of the concrete objectives of the project should be to widen Nordic participation. The application must clearly indicate how and which other stakeholders and from which countries the project intends to involve in the long term.
• The Nordic countries are Denmark, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Åland. Participation from outside the Nordic countries is also welcome.
• You can apply as an individual, group, institution, association or company, as well as a public or private organisation. Opstart welcomes applications for projects with a global vision that can help create new relevance for Nordic art and cultural cooperation. Therefore, you do not need to be a resident of the Nordic Region or have Nordic nationality to apply.

Assessment Criteria

• Applications are assessed on the basis of two general criteria and the project’s own context and coherence:
  • Content in the project and Nordic relevance.
  • The Fund evaluates the content of the Opstart project on the basis of its originality and its contribution to innovative and dynamic artistic and cultural life in the Nordic region.
  • The Fund assesses the level of engagement – or potential level of engagement – in the project in relevant areas in the Nordic Region and eventually outside the region. Furthermore, the Fund evaluates which grade the project will create value mutually for all the project partners.
  • The Fund evaluates whether the initial phase in the project meets the criteria for Opstart, by considering
    • if the objectives, content, participation, method and economy in the project are described sufficiently and thoroughly
    • if the development perspective in the project is sufficiently clear.

Notice that Opstart does not support:

• projects that do not have a clear link to the arts and culture (for instance sporting events, business development, technological innovation, and projects within journalism and social sciences),
• school trips or research trips of individuals,
• participation of individuals and groups in events and activities, and
• fully developed projects that can apply for Project Funding. If you apply for Project Funding, do not apply Opstart at the same time but include your development phase in the Project Funding application.

For more information, visit Nordic Culture Fund.