Grants
Are you looking for resources or support for a collaborative project or research in the field of colonial collections? On this page you will find an overview of relevant scholarships and grants. Not all these grants are directly related to collections from a colonial context, but can support and encourage international cooperation, and the digitalization of and research into these collections. This page will regularly be updated, so make sure to check back.
Digitalization
Mondriaan Fund
Heritage Media Digital
Aim: This contribution supports alternative forms of storytelling and digital presentations about historical events, based on heritage archives and collections. This concerns public engagement projects involving digital media, in collaboration with creative makers. Potential projects include podcasts, games, VR applications, innovative websites, and other public presentations of digital heritage archives.
Who: Museums and other publicly accessible heritage institutions in the Netherlands or Caribbean part of the Kingdom that manage collections, in collaboration with a creative maker.
Period: The application deadline for the second round is September 18, before 4 p.m. (Netherlands time zone) / 10 a.m. (Caribbean time zone).
Collections
Mondriaan Fund
Collection Mobility
Aim: Collection Mobility of the Mondriaan Fund helps to boost the quality and visibility of the Dutch State Art Collection for the public. The grant is intended for museums and other cultural heritage institutions that wish to select, discard or relocate parts of their collection in order to increase the quality of those collections, raise their profile and improve the focus of their collection profiles.
Who: Collection managing institutions in the Netherlands that wish to select, dispose of or relocate collection components. The application procedure is only open to publicly accessible Dutch institutions that manage museum collections of national and international significance.
Period: Continuous. Due to the long processing time, submitting an application long before the envisioned start date.
Heritage Innovation
Aim: Stimulating museums and heritage institutions managing collections to develop innovative initiatives that result in transition, including research, new programming, exceptional thematic collaborations, and redesigns that are relevant to society.
Who: Museums and cultural heritage institutions that manage collections with open public presentation objectives, including archives.
Deadline: The next deadline to apply for this grant is 9 October 2025.
Cultuurfonds
DNB Fund
Aim: The DNB Fund was established by the Dutch National Bank (DNB) to contribute to initiatives that work to reduce the continued influence of trans-Atlantic slavery in the daily lives of descendants of enslaved people in Suriname, the Caribbean part of the Kingdom and the Netherlands. These projects and initiatives could be focused on strengthening culture, heritage and nature; improve access to education and talent development; or encouraging economic independence.
Who: Cultural or societal institutions and individuals in Suriname, the Caribbean part of the Kingdom and the Netherlands. The location of the project decides who submits an application.
- Netherlands: cultural or societal foundations can submit an application
- Suriname and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom: individuals, citizen initiatives and cultural and societal foundations can submit an application
- Suriname: in some cases, governmental institutions can also submit an application
Period: Continuous. Applications under EUR 5000 are assessed four times a year.
International cooperation
DutchCulture
International Heritage Cooperation Matching Fund
Aim: The Matching Fund is meant for projects that contribute to the visibility of the history and heritage that connects the Netherlands with the partner and focus countries that are included in the Dutch International Cultural Policy.
Who: Legal entities established in the Netherlands can apply to a project. This may be a heritage institution or heritage professional and/or a cultural institution or cultural professional.
Period: The next deadline to apply for this fund is 21 September 2025.
Europe + Heritage General Support Scheme
Aim: Promote the establishment of contacts with the European heritage sector and the exchange of knowledge between the Netherlands and the rest of Europe.
Who: Heritage professionals and heritage organisations that are based in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (including the Caribbean part).
Deadline: 2025 – 2028. Applications should be submitted at least six weeks before a project is due to start. Applications to the scheme can be submitted year-round until the budget has been depleted.
Mondriaan Fund
International Collaborative Projects with Heritage Institutes
Aim: The grant for International Collaborative Projects with Heritage Institutes is intended to stimulate and improve the visibility pf research and new insights in the cultural heritage field. Grants are meant to support projects in which Dutch and international heritage institutions collaborate in internationally significant fields covered by both of their collections.
Who: Application can be submitted by a cultural heritage institution based in the Netherlands or the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, who collaborates with a comparable foreign cultural heritage institution.
Period: Two application rounds per year. The deadline for the last round in 2025 is September 4, 4 PM (CEST)/10 AM (AST).
ICOM Netherlands
Travel grant, Research grant and Activities grant
Aim: Each year, ICOM Netherlands provides funding to facilitate international exchange and the cross-border sharing of museum expertise. Applications can be submitted for a travel grant, a research grant or an activities grant.
Who: This grant is meant for members of ICOM Netherlands
Period: Continuous. The board of ICOM Netherlands will assess the applications during the board meetings (six times a year).
Research
NICAS
Small Project Grants+
Aim: The Small Project Grants+ of the Netherlands Institute for Conservation, Art, Science (NICAS) supports research in and with Dutch heritage collections, by offering a permanent funding scheme to support small projects in which museums and other heritage collections collaborate with academic partners.
Who: Dutch cultural heritage institutions that manage collections and collaborate with academic partners.
Period: Continuous. Funding decisions are made twice a year. The next deadlines are 22 September 2025 and 16 March 2026.
Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV)
Philippus Corts Fund
Aim: The Philippus Corts Fund supports and contributes to research focused on preserving original source materials and making these materials accessible (in local languages and in Dutch) in Indonesia and the Netherlands, pertaining to the shared history of these two areas in the period 1602 – 1949, with special attention to the periods of the VOC and the Second World War in Asia. Funding is available for research, translation, publication or disclosure.
Who: Applicants are students (MA or PhD phase) or graduated (MA or PhD) in a relevant discipline. They must be working in the Netherlands or in a joint Dutch Indonesian team, conducting specific research in collections in the Netherlands or Indonesia in line with the goals of the fund.
Period: At the moment, the application period is closed. It may reopen.
Rijksmuseum
Johan Huizinga Fellowship
Aim: This fellowship offers early career scholars the opportunity and support to conduct historical research into objects in the Rijksmuseum collection.
Who: MA graduates, PhD students and post-doctoral candidates of all nationalities.
Period: At the moment, the application period is closed. It is expected to reopen in the Fall of 2025.
Migelien Gerritzen Fellowship
Aim: This fellowship enables early career scholars to conduct conservation and scientific research on art works and historical artefacts. The focus is on the collection of the Rijksmuseum or on an ideation that has been initiated at the museum.
Who: MA graduates, PhD students and post-doctoral candidates of all nationalities.
Period: At the moment, the application period is closed. It is expected to reopen in the Fall of 2025.
National Maritime Museum
Dr. Ernst Crone Fellowship
Aim: This fellowship consists of a one-time stipend to conduct maritime historical research relating to objects in the collection of the Netherlands Maritime Museum in Amsterdam.
Who: Open to academics holding a PhD degree.
Period: At the moment, the application period is closed. It is expected to reopen at the beginning of 2026.
Prof. J.C.M. Warnsinck Fellowship
Aim: This fellowship consists of a one-time stipend to conduct maritime historical research relating to objects in the collection of the Netherlands Maritime Museum in Amsterdam.
Who: Open to those who have (almost) completed their master’s degree, or an equivalent degree.
Period: At the moment, the application period is closed. It is expected to reopen at the beginning of 2026.
Allard Pierson
Allard Pierson Fellowship for Provenance Research
Aim: This fellowship facilitates provenance research into the collection of the Allard Pierson. During the fellowship, a researcher can, in close collaboration with other members of the research team, investigate the provenance history of part of the archaeological collection of the Allard Pierson.
Who: Allard Pierson fellowships are open to all candidates with a Master’s degree and demonstrable academic abilities. A completed PhD is not a requirement.
Period: Applications are open until 30 September 2025. The fellowship may reopen next year.
Allard Pierson Fellowship for Cartography
Aim: This fellowship facilitates research into the collection of Maps and Atlases at the Allard Pierson. This collection broadly reflects the history of Western, specifically Dutch, cartography up to the present. One of the suggested research topics is the changing perception of the colonial past.
Who: Allard Pierson fellowships are open to all candidates with a Master’s degree and demonstrable academic abilities. A completed PhD is not a requirement.
Period: Applications are open until 30 September 2025. The fellowship may reopen next year.
Travel
DutchCulture
Europe + Heritage Travel Scheme
Aim: Facilitate establishing contact and international cooperation between heritage professionals and institutions in the Netherlands and other European countries. Under this scheme, vouchers of EUR 300 to EUR 1000 can be applied for to facilitate a visit of a European partner to the Netherlands.
Who: This scheme is specifically intended for heritage professionals and institutions. It is also open to heritage professionals and institutions based in the Kingdom of the Netherlands who wish to visit the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Period: Continuous, 2025 – 2028. Applications must be submitted at least four weeks before departure. Applications for vouchers can be submitted year-round until the budget has been depleted.
Education
Fund for Cultural Participation
Cultural Education for the Caribbean part of the Kingdom 2025-2028 – Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten
Aim: This subsidy scheme stimulates the development and strengthening of cultural education in schools in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Funding is meant for explorations and projects that contribute to more and better cultural education in primary and (secondary) special education.
Who: At the moment, applications can be submitted by cultural institutions and independent heritage professionals who are active in the field of cultural education for at least two years. The applicant must be based on Curaçao, Aruba or Sint Maarten. The application is always for a cooperation between the applicant and one or multiple schools. Both the application as the school must be based on the same island.
Period: 2025 – 2026. The deadline for applying is 9 December 2026.