Open Call Crossing Borders for Designers

The objective is to uncover what is happening on various scales in Dutch border areas, both in the country as well as overseas. What specific needs are there in light of the urgent challenges of today and of the future? Is there leeway? And how can they show that border areas can actually serve as an example when it comes to launching definitions such as reciprocity and multiplicity? They challenge applicants to discover the core values of various border areas and to reveal the opportunities that are there by means of observation, analysis, reflection and imagination. This will lead to valuable insights for both policymakers and designers and spatial designers, and of course for the occupants of these areas.

Aims

• With the projects that are supported under this open call, the Fund wants to form a community of practice within which knowledge and experiences are exchanged. This enables projects to reinforce each other and coalition partners to help each other to elevate the developed perspectives and integral working method in their organizations and to embed them in their policy. During the term of the projects, the Fund will therefore organize various meetings for both the designers and the non-designer coalition partners. The investment that this takes, can be included in the project’s budget.
• To share any results or interim results outside the community of practice as well, they will collect them on the De nieuwe ruimte platform. They  will do this in the form of in-depth articles, interviews and videos. Together with strategic network partners, they will also organize public presentations and meetings for the project teams, partners and other parties interested in the spatial quality of the Netherlands. In doing so, they can show that it is worth using research by design to tackle social challenges, the goal of the Spatial Design Action Programme 2021–2024, of which this open call forms part.

Themes

• Borders are often boundaries invented by people which can be experienced differently: administratively, scenically, ecologically, but also practically. They are defining because of their inclusive and exclusive effect; at the same time, they are not as precise and succinct when the area surrounding them is considered a whole. Here, life and work take place, there is nature and infrastructure, and there are challenges and opportunities that reach further than the border.
• At the same time, government scenarios often seem to come to an abrupt halt at these boundaries. What would the transitional zone around the border look like if they approached the existing urgent challenges together in an integral way that transcends borders? And what role do administrative borders still play then? A part designers can play is to make the highly abstract level and multiplicity of the border perceptible and clear.

Phases

• The Open Call: Crossing Borders is divided into the following phases:
  • First phase 
    • Canvas application: In this phase, you draw up a concise application using the Spatial Design Action [SPA] project canvas (in Dutch only). The closing date for this phase is 26 August 2024. An advisory committee then assesses the applications and selects a maximum of 26 proposals which will each receive € 3,000 to develop the canvas application into a complete project application. This amount is financial compensation for the investment of time that is required for this. This selection will be announced in the first half of October 2024.
    • Complete project application: Only applicants whose canvas application has been selected can submit a complete project application. The closing date for submitting the project application is 25 November 2024. An advisory committee then assesses the applications and selects a maximum of 15 proposals that will be awarded a grant of a maximum of € 34,000 (€ 26,000 for research by design and € 8,000 for knowledge sharing and impact enhancement). This selection will be announced in early January 2025.
  • Development phase
    • After the final selection of the complete project application, in the development phase, you will work on the research by design together with your coalition partners from January up to and including September 2025, during which period you will focus on developing new working methods, insights and design proposals. During this period, the Fund will organize a number of intervision and knowledge sharing meetings. At the end of the development phase, project applications up to a maximum of € 44,000 can be submitted for work on the next steps of your project.
  • Follow-up phase
    • Supported projects will receive a maximum of € 44,000 in the follow-up phase (€ 36,000 for research by design and € 8,000 for knowledge sharing and impact enhancement) in the follow-up phase. The follow-up phase runs from November 2025 up to and including September 2026. The objective of this phase is to engage the power of design to further develop the results obtained up to that point. In the follow-up phase, the Fund will also organize a number of intervision and knowledge sharing meetings.

Eligible Projects

• The open call focuses on projects that develop innovative spatial strategies on the significance of borders, using research by design. The central aspect of the projects is an inclusive approach to the urgent challenges in border areas. They should explicitly concern uncovering something that is already there, but which has not sufficiently been seen or heard yet. Projects can focus on various scales and different levels of action and take place in the spatial domain, where borders lead to layout and division challenges. It is important to be explicit about the scale, the various perspectives from which the challenge is approached and the location of the research by design, but also about the form of the border that is central to the research. Motivate the choices made.

Who can apply?

• Proposals can be submitted by designers that form a relevant coalition with concerned parties and stakeholders. Think of collaborations with communities or social organizations or their representatives, nature management and waterboards, border guards, such as the Dutch Border Police, representatives of border provinces or regions, occupants and companies of border communities, area and project developers, corporations, educational institutions, knowledge institutions, but also daily urban/regional systems that go beyond borders or meet each other, connect with or overlap each other on the border. This could also include diversity and inclusivity, segregation and gentrification activists and scientists from the social, economic, political, cultural and spatial domains.
• It is important for the application to clarify which coalition partners you are involving and what their contributions are going to be. They also encourage you to involve civilians or their representatives from each side of the border.

For more information, visit Creative Industries Fund NL.