Culture Minister wants more focus on performance

Minister of Education, Culture and Science Mrs Bussemaker has sent a letter to the Lower House of Parliament in which she proposes to improve the quality of the current Basic Infrastructure for art and culture. She states that government support will remain necessary in the future in order to keep a wide range of high quality culture accessible and affordable.

More attention to performance of organisations
The current Basic Infrastructure for art and culture is a stable set of institutions of (inter) national importance and with a specific function. When assessing these institutions every four years, main focus is on the new plans for the next period. Less attention is paid to actual performance and improvements achieved. One of the proposals by the Minister is therefore a better weighting of quantitative and qualitative performance, monitoring by institutions themselves and the assessment of plans by the Council for Culture. The Minister also seeks to improve the coordination of themes and procedures between the national government and the provinces and municipalities.

More information
Policy memorandum Cultuurstelsel 2017-2020, 1 November 2013 (Dutch)
Policy memorandum Culture Moves, 10 June 2013 (English version published on 15 October 2013). This policy memorandum sets out Minister Bussemaker’s views on the arts and culture.