Currently 18 active tech and infrastructure grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in the EU. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Almost every entry is funded; a few notable unpaid open calls and festival submissions are included as clearly flagged exceptions. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
Subscribe: RSS feed · Calendar (.ics)
Privacy Camp holds its 14th edition on 13 October 2026 in Brussels and online, organised by European Digital Rights (EDRi) with the Research Group on Law, Science, Technology & Society (LSTS) at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Privacy Salon vzw, the Institute for European Studies at Université Saint-Louis Bruxelles, and the Racism and Technology Center. THEME: 'The Origins of Future Technologies: Towards communities of digital self-determination'. The call starts from the premise that digital futures do not appear from nowhere but are built through land, labour, capital, infrastructure, law, public money, political choices and social struggle, and asks where technologies come from, who gets to shape them, and what conditions make digital self-determination possible. It situates this against the EU's 2026 Tech Sovereignty Package (semiconductors, artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure and data centres) and the wider deregulatory agenda including the Digital Omnibus, the AI Omnibus and reforms affecting data protection, privacy, labour and environmental safeguards, asking whose version of sovereignty is actually being discussed. TOPIC AREAS: (1) Material conditions in the production of technologies, covering the natural resources needed across the supply chain (critical components such as semiconductors, water for data centres) and how GDPR, ePrivacy and AI Act safeguards shape the material conditions of AI from data extraction and biometric processing through to data centres, labour and public infrastructure; labour conditions, including who mines critical materials, union-busting across the tech supply chain, and coalitions between tech workers, unions, migrant justice groups, climate movements and digital rights organisations; and capital, meaning the venture capital forces driving the current AI hype and consolidating through defence, security and militarisation. (2) Political vision in the use of technologies, covering military use and how militarisation and securitisation shape the EU deregulation debate, and the political ideologies driving technology development, including what digital self-determination means for communities facing racialised discrimination, surveillance, occupation, border violence, workplace control or environmental harm. (3) Moving technologies forward through communities, covering community innovation for digital self-determination (distributed and self-hosted data storage, AI built by and for community needs, community-led, public or cooperative digital infrastructure); law, deregulation and rights (resisting the Digital Omnibus and specifically the Data Omnibus, defending GDPR and ePrivacy safeguards, protecting access, transparency and automated decision-making rights, enforcing existing digital laws, supporting collective litigation, and challenging the framing of rights as obstacles to EU competitiveness); and building power by connecting grassroots movements across tech worker organising, labour, migrant, LGBTQIA+, climate, economic justice and landback movements. FORMATS: interactive workshops are particularly encouraged, meaning small-group work, peer exchange and collaboration across sectors, coalitions and disciplines, moving from talk to strategic action; panel discussions are also welcome, especially those centring diverse voices and grounded lived experience with room for meaningful audience engagement. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: state a clear objective for the session and what a good outcome would be; make it as interactive as possible; support a diversity of voices and multiple perspectives; average session length is 50 minutes; propose the format that actually suits the idea rather than forcing a panel into a workshop or vice versa. For workshops, make the objectives, structure and facilitation clear and have participants work together in small groups towards a specific goal; the organisers provide additional guidance, support and feedback for workshops. For panels, list a maximum of 4 speakers covering academia, civil society and decision-maker perspectives, and indicate which speakers have confirmed at least in principle. TIMELINE: proposals due via the online form by 10 August 2026 at 09:00 CEST; the Content Committee notifies applicants before 21 August 2026; confirmation to proceed required by 25 August; draft programme published 4 September; speakers and final session description confirmed by 10 September at the latest (earlier confirmation improves the odds that the EUR 400 reimbursement budget covers speaker travel and accommodation); final programme published 28 September. The 2026 Content Committee is Andreea Belu (EDRi), Gloria González Fuster (LSTS, VUB), Jill Toh (Racism and Technology Center), Sanne Stevens (Justice, Equity and Technology Project) and Alexandra Giannopoulou (DFF). Programme enquiries: andreea.belu@edri.org. Venue and reimbursement enquiries: guillermo.peris@edri.org.
The Stimuleringsfonds Digital Culture Grant Scheme (Deelregeling Digitale cultuur) supports projects by makers, researchers, design studios and cultural institutions positioned professionally in digital culture. Solo projects can receive EUR 10,000-25,000; collaborative projects with partners can receive up to EUR 50,000. At least 20 percent of total project costs must be covered by co-financing. Applicants must be registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK). The 2026 application window for this round runs 12-19 August 2026 (opens 12 August 15:00, closes 19 August 16:00 CEST); in 2026 the scheme runs only two rounds and this is the last. No application fee. Apply via the official scheme page.
The fifth iteration of transmediale's Digital Art Residency, run with the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, awarded to one individual or collective working in digital art practices at the intersection of media arts, performance, sound and moving image. THEME: the 2027 programme sits under transmediale's 40th-anniversary framework RFC 40, named after the early internet Request for Comments series, and treats the festival as a counter-infrastructure: the call asks how a network stays legible to itself while surrounding structures break down, and how technical paradigms can be reconfigured into new cultural protocols outside extractive logics, moving from critique to construction. Proposals should offer alternatives to how we understand, respond to and shape the technological conditions we inhabit. WHAT IS OFFERED: an artist fee of CHF 2,000 per month for two months; a CHF 15,000 production grant supporting a new work or the continuation of an existing project, open to all formats and building on the research begun during the residency (the project must be completed by December 2027 at the latest); travel and accommodation for the festival and the residency; a shared modular working space at transmediale studio; connections to Berlin institutions and stakeholders; a public presentation in transmediale's year-round studio programme; and the option of an online publication in transmediale's journal. STRUCTURE: kick-off with a presentation of the residency projects during transmediale 2027 (26 to 31 January 2027, attendance optional but strongly recommended); onboarding and the first hybrid stretch in May 2027; the mandatory on-site month in Berlin in June 2027; and a second hybrid stretch including reporting in July 2027. Availability for the festival week and for the whole of June in Berlin are treated as key prerequisites. TIMELINE: open call 16 July to 28 August 2026 (23:59 CEST); selected residents announced October 2026. Applications are only accepted via transmediale's submission forms. Contact: info[at]transmediale.de.
Human Rights Watch is hiring an AI Strategy and Solutions Lead into its Operations Department to build the foundation for responsible AI adoption across the organisation. The role deliberately sits between strategy and execution: assessing organisational readiness, mapping partnerships and governance, and also prototyping and shipping working systems. THE WORK, in four strands. (1) STRATEGY AND READINESS: with the CIO and the Information Security and Technology (IST) leadership team, build an AI strategy covering data foundation requirements, infrastructure gaps and organisational readiness; assess current state and shape a roadmap balancing quick wins against long-term capacity; research what peer nonprofit, humanitarian and human rights organisations are doing and find collaboration openings. (2) FLAGSHIP SOLUTIONS: work with departments to find high-impact use cases, translate business needs into technical approaches, build and deploy AI/ML solutions with measurable value (time saved, efficiency, better outcomes), using the Microsoft AI ecosystem (Copilot Studio, Azure AI, Power Platform) among other tools, and oversee consultants and vendors to extend delivery capacity. (3) ADOPTION AND CAPACITY: balance onboarding staff onto AI tools against building custom solutions where they amplify the organisation's strengths; write training material pitched at different work areas and skill levels covering prompting and responsible use; support working groups and communities of practice; produce playbooks and guides for non-technical staff. (4) GOVERNANCE: partner with IST leadership on risk assessment frameworks, align solutions with security, infrastructure and architecture requirements, contribute to AI policy development and its operationalisation, set standards for evaluating proofs of concept and MVPs, and engage business units so outcomes are co-owned; all of it balanced against data quality, security and resource constraints and HRW's mission as a human rights organisation. WHO THEY WANT: a bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience in computer science, data science, information systems, mathematics, AI/ML implementation or a related technical field; a minimum of seven years' relevant experience including two to three years on AI and two to three years implementing AI/ML in production; experience contributing to technology strategy and assessing organisational readiness for new technology; strong Python and ML library/framework skills; hands-on predictive modelling, data science and statistical analysis; experience with low-code/no-code AI platforms such as Copilot Studio or Power Platform; a track record of scoping and delivering under resource constraints; a grasp of both generative AI and traditional ML; and the ability to explain technical concepts plainly to mixed audiences, engage stakeholders and lead technology adoption as an internal partner to business teams. PREFERRED: nonprofit, humanitarian or human rights experience; data privacy, security and ethical AI knowledge; familiarity with responsible AI frameworks and governance models; vendor and consultant management; and a background in politically sensitive or high-risk environments. APPLY: through the HRW job portal with a cover letter and CV, preferably as PDFs, by 30 August 2026. Only complete applications are reviewed and only shortlisted candidates are contacted; no calls or email enquiries. HRW states that it does not discriminate on the basis of disability, age, gender identity and expression, national origin, race and ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or criminal record.
A new pilot residency from Art and Media Culture Agency M-Cult in Helsinki and Arte artists' association / Titanik gallery in Turku, sitting at the intersection of art, media and sonic practice, funded by the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture from Nordic Culture Point. TWO ARTISTS will be selected. THE PREMISE: the programme treats technology as a situated practice and deliberately shifts attention away from the progress narratives promoted by large global technology companies, toward local, indigenous and community-oriented perspectives. It focuses on making vernacular and non-linear technological and sonic environments visible, foregrounding vibrant local histories and traditions across the Nordic and Baltic region, and asks what non-linear sonic and media practice might look like in the current social, political and cultural landscape. WHAT EACH ARTIST RECEIVES: EUR 3,500 artist fee; EUR 2,000 production budget; accommodation for two months divided between Helsinki and Turku, one month in each; travel costs for one return ticket from a Nordic-Baltic country; access to Titanik's residency studio space and a working desk at M-Cult's office during each stay; mentoring and curatorial support from both organisations' staff; and networking into the Finnish media art and contemporary art scenes. In return the artist develops in-depth or focused research and presents their practice and research at two public events, one in each city. WHO CAN APPLY: individual artists only, explicitly NOT collectives this round; artists from or based in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Aland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania; working in sound, media and/or digital arts, or the expanded field of vernacular technologies, all defined broadly by the organisers. Applicants must be available to travel to Finland for the full two-month period across February and March 2027. The organisers welcome applicants at all career stages and from all backgrounds. One submission per artist: if two are sent, only the later one is reviewed. HOW TO APPLY: submit via the form linked from the open call page with a brief letter of motivation including a research plan for the residency, how it connects with the programme's themes and what you would focus on (max 1-2 pages), your CV, and a link to your portfolio. Applications in English only. DEADLINE: 30 August 2026 at 23:59 UTC+3. Online interviews with shortlisted artists take place before 19 September 2026, and all applicants are notified by email by the end of September 2026. JURY: Jussi Koitela, Director of M-Cult, Helsinki, and Farbod Fakharzadeh, Director of Arte ry and Titanik, Turku. ACCOMMODATION AND ACCESSIBILITY: in Helsinki, the Vallila Residency hosted by M-Cult is a 30 sqm apartment in a small wooden house with one room, kitchen and bathroom with shower; it is NOT fully accessible, sitting on the first floor up stairs with no elevator (details from info@m-cult.org). In Turku, the Titanik A.i.R. apartment is 27 sqm on the top floor of a building with an elevator, but the space including the bathroom is not fully accessible (details from info@titanik.fi). A partner, friend or child may join, but their expenses are not covered. THE PARTNERS: M-Cult, founded in 2000, develops and presents art and media culture with a focus on the social and political dimensions of media and technology, working through art commissions, residencies and learning programmes. Titanik, established in Turku in 1988 by the artist-run organization Arte Ry, has since 2006 run Titanik A.i.R., the first artist residency in Finland with a focus on sound art and sonic practices. CONTACT: Jussi Koitela (jussi.koitela@m-cult.org) or Farbod Fakharzadeh (director@arte.fi).
European Lab and the Sphera Network are opening submissions for the discourse programme of the next Sphera Media Lab, the annual forum for people defending independent media in Europe. THEMES: technological independence (sovereignty, tools, mutualisation); economic independence (cooperative models); editorial independence (press freedom, resisting the far right). FORMATS SOUGHT: masterclasses, led by an expert sharing advanced knowledge, technique and hands-on insight; and keynotes, inspiring talks grounded in a specific case study. WHO CAN PROPOSE: media outlets, associations, researchers and professionals. The organisers state they pay particular attention to parity and diversity across their programmes and ask that proposals take those criteria into account. WHAT IS COVERED: selected contributors travel to Brussels with transport, accommodation and a fee covered. THE EVENT: Sphera Media Lab 2026 runs on 3 December 2026 at LaVallee in Brussels, a full day of conferences, masterclasses and workshops for independent media professionals from across Europe, alongside the premiere of a documentary on threats facing European journalists. APPLICATION: submit your masterclass or keynote proposal via the Typeform at arty-farty.typeform.com/to/xnDikGGM before 31 August 2026.
The International Conference on Live Coding is dedicated to practices and research focused on technologies and philosophies that interpret the use of computer code and the public writing of algorithms as performative gestures. The 10th edition runs 9 to 13 March 2027 in Antwerp, hosted by Lambdasonic (TOPLAP Belgium) with the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp and De Singel. THEME: 'Dialogues', framing live coding as continuous improvisational exchange between coder, machine and audience, and across disciplines. Suggested topics include dialogues between live coding and acoustic musicians, dancers, theatre, classically trained musicians reading live-coded (or graphical) scores, band and jazz-combo settings, live-coder ensembles, ten-minute live-coded mini-operas, DMX lighting systems, graphics and shader live coding, robotics (pen plotters, textile-weaving robots), design-as-performance, community building, diversity/equity/inclusion, accessibility of live coding languages and interfaces, education, and algorave. The venues will facilitate collaborations with resident dancers, a jazz combo (back-line provided: drums, guitar amp, bass amp, piano), a string quartet reading scores a prima vista, visual artists, students and researchers where possible. FORMATS: short papers (2-4 pages) and long papers (5-12 pages) using the provided template; live performances (800-word abstract, max 150-word programme note, technical rider); workshops (short 2h or long 4h, max 700-word abstract, held in English or Dutch); installations (max 700-word abstract, technical questionnaire plus a measured plan or sketch, with the interactive aspect clearly defined); and satellite events. All contributors submit a max 150-word biography. Peer review is single-blind with at least two reviewers per submission. LANGUAGE: submissions must be in English, except that live performance, installation and workshop proposals may also be submitted in another language (workshops: English, Dutch or French) with a machine-translated English version, stated as such. Substantial use of generative AI in writing papers and performance abstracts must be disclosed; proofreading and translation are exempt. In-person presentation is encouraged, with remote proposals considered and sessions live-streamed where possible; the organisers ask attendees to minimise travel impact and to link up with nearby satellite events to turn a long trip into a mini-tour. The call notes attention to access needs, care responsibilities and other barriers to participation. SATELLITE EVENTS: live coding nodes, art schools and other organisations worldwide are invited to host their own events before or after ICLC 2027; submit a declaration of interest via Fourwaves before 1 February 2027 with a principal contact, city and any confirmed details, and join #iclc-satellite-events on the TOPLAP Discord. Hosts are asked to seek local funding for accommodation, travel and artist fees; the committee cannot fund or organise these but will coordinate dates and publish your event. TO APPLY: submit via Fourwaves at https://event.fourwaves.com/iclc2027/pages using the templates at https://codeberg.org/iclc/iclc-templates (read the README for full proposal instructions). Submission deadline extended to 1 September 2026; acceptance notification 1 November 2026. CALL FOR REVIEWERS: anyone active in a live-coding-related field can volunteer by emailing a short description and keywords of their expertise to iclc@lambdasonic.be, the same address for general questions.
Fundacion Cotec (a Spanish innovation-focused non-profit) and Sonar+D, building on an initial experiment at Sonar 2026, invite proposals for a long-term installation at KNOWCASE, the street-level showcase of Cotec's Madrid headquarters in Chamberi, visible to the public 24 hours a day. THEME: digital culture, meaning projects that combine knowledge, research, science and data with art, technology and social impact. Cotec's stated priorities are the big transitions (analogue to digital, linear to circular economy, tangible to intangible) plus innovation ecosystems and R&D&I, the climate crisis, the future of work and learning, social divides, citizen participation and democratic health. WHAT YOU GET: a budget of up to EUR 100,000 plus VAT covering everything (design, production, installation, maintenance, documentation, artist fees, travel, accommodation and insurance), and a minimum 24-month public display from February 2027. WHO CAN APPLY: artists, collectives, designers, technologists, universities, research centres, startups, businesses, creative agencies, producers, cultural institutions and multidisciplinary teams, internationally; applicants must demonstrate solid experience and a relevant portfolio. CONSTRAINTS: the proposal must be original and never previously exhibited, must include participative or interactive elements, must encourage critical thinking, and must be technically and financially viable for the full 24+ month exhibition period (durability and maintenance are central selection criteria). Selection weighs conceptual quality highest (40 percent), followed by public interactivity (25 percent). HOW TO APPLY: one PDF of maximum 15 pages containing summary, concept, technical proposal, visuals, budget, timeline, team profile, portfolio and declaration, in Spanish, another official language of Spain, or English, via the application portal linked from the terms and conditions. Results announced 14 October 2026. Deadline 7 September 2026 at midnight CEST.
Eurostars (part of the Eureka network, the Eurostars-3 programme co-funded by Horizon Europe) supports collaborative international R&D projects led by innovative SMEs. Each country funds its own participants, so amounts vary; for the Dutch share, RVO funds up to EUR 500,000 per project at a 50 percent reimbursement rate on eligible R&D costs. Projects require an international consortium of at least two independent organisations from at least two Eurostars countries, led by an innovative SME, with the SME budget at least 50 percent of the total and no single participant exceeding 70 percent. Projects must run no longer than 36 months and be civil (non-defence) in purpose. Call 11 opens 9 July 2026 and closes 10 September 2026, 14:00 CEST. No application fee. Submit via the Eureka project platform (myeurekaproject.org); Dutch national information at RVO.
The MIT R&D Collaboration Projects scheme (MIT R&D-samenwerkingsprojecten, part of MKB Innovatiestimulering Topsectoren) funds joint R&D projects by Dutch SMEs within the national Top Sectors and Mission-driven Innovation policy. The grant covers 35 percent of eligible costs: small projects of EUR 50,000-200,000 and large projects of EUR 200,000-350,000 (with per-participant ranges of EUR 25,000-100,000 for small and EUR 25,000-175,000 for large). Eligible applicants are consortia of at least two collaborating SMEs, with no single participant carrying more than 70 percent of costs. The national RVO round runs 9 June to 15 September 2026 (closes 17:00) and is a ranked tender, not first-come-first-served; some provinces run separate regional MIT windows. No application fee. Apply via RVO.
Heritage Innovation funds projects and research tracks that contribute to substantive innovation in the heritage sector. Examples given by the fund include developing new narratives about cultural heritage, strengthening regional collaboration across the sector, redesigning how a collection is presented, and feasibility studies on technological applications such as AI or gamification, which makes this one of the more tech-adjacent Mondriaan schemes. WHO CAN APPLY: museums and collection-holding cultural heritage institutions, including archives, in the Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. Cultural organisations in the heritage sector may also apply if they collaborate with one or more collection-holding institutions. All applicants must be non-profit, not-for-profit entities. NOT FUNDED: fixed costs, restoration, building museums, or regular operations. CONDITIONS: institutions must subscribe to the Fair Practice Code, the Culture Governance Code and the Diversity and Inclusion Code, and must pay visual artists fairly where artists are involved. AMOUNTS: projects get up to 40% of variable project-related costs on a minimum project budget of EUR 25,000; research tracks get up to 70% of costs capped at EUR 15,000 with no minimum budget. APPLY through the Mondriaan Fund online system after registering an account. Deadline 17 September 2026 before 16:00 Dutch time / 10:00 Caribbean time.
A one-off 2026 call letting Dutch cultural institutions reuse and adapt digital technology that other institutions have already built and published in the open DigitALL Toolkit, for example translation software shared between theatres or a streaming platform adapted for a new venue. Grants run up to EUR 30,000 and cover technical modification, integration, production and deployment costs. Eligible applicants are museums, theatres, music venues, festivals, film theatres and professional performing arts producers. Applications are submitted online and assessed in order of receipt rather than comparatively, with a decision within ten weeks. The deadline was extended from 31 May 2026 to 1 November 2026 after high demand. IMPORTANT RESTRICTION: this route cannot be used to further develop your own pilot internally; it exists specifically to spread another institution's working technology across the sector. For developing something new, use the DigitALL pilot contribution instead.
Prototype Fund supports the development of socially relevant open-source software, offering low-threshold funding and coaching to individual developers and small teams. ELIGIBILITY: individual developers or teams of up to four; funded members must reside in the EU and the lead entity must be based in Germany. Application window 1 October to 30 November 2026. Apply via the Prototype Fund application page.
OSIP is the European Space Agency's standing front door for unsolicited novel ideas, launched in 2019 and now the main entry point for new concepts into ESA, both in response to specific problems and through open calls. HOW IT WORKS: ideas are submitted through two mechanisms. Campaigns are targeted calls responding to specific questions with defined timelines (recent examples include Future Navigation Demonstrators and elements for the EOCognitiveLab mission); Channels are permanently open, open-ended calls on broader topics with no deadline. Submissions can go through an optional community discussion phase, with voting and comments, before expert evaluation by ESA. WHO CAN SUBMIT: individuals, businesses, universities and organisations anywhere in the world. The catch for funding: to implement a funded idea yourself, you must be eligible to do business with ESA under Article 18 of its procurement regulations, which in practice means affiliation with an entity in an ESA member state. WHAT FUNDING LOOKS LIKE: successful ideas are typically supported as co-funded PhD or postdoctoral research (ESA plus a university), early technology development activities, or system studies; amounts vary by route and campaign. WHY IT IS ON THE DESK: this is the one genuinely public, always-open route into ESA for independent researchers, technologists and artists working with space data or space technology concepts; new campaigns appear regularly, so checking the platform periodically is worthwhile. Submit via ideas.esa.int.
NO PUBLISHED CLOSING DATE: the call gives no application deadline, so the operative cutoff is the gathering itself on 2-5 November 2026; apply early. The European Sex Workers' Rights Alliance (ESWA) brings back its Digital Rights Gathering in 2026 as The (W)horrors Edition, in Barcelona just after Halloween. It is a capacity and community-building space by and for sex workers, convened to confront the surveillance, censorship and digital violence they face online and to imagine and build more resilient digital futures. A limited number of spaces is reserved for allies working in adjacent digital rights and harm reduction spaces to host sessions. TWO CALLS ARE OPEN. (1) CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS, for sex workers who want to deepen their knowledge of digital rights, online safety and community resilience. Requirements: be a current or former sex worker who is also a member of an organisation in ESWA's network; be available for three days of interactive sessions, skill-sharing and collective learning on 2, 3 and 4 November, and free from 1 November (travel out) through 5 November (travel home), even though some final-day sessions are optional. Selected participants receive full funding covering travel, accommodation and food. (2) CALL FOR TRAINERS AND SESSION PROPOSALS, for facilitators, trainers and educators experienced in digital rights, online safety or sex worker-led organising, who want to deliver an interactive workshop, skill-share or creative session. Sessions run 90 minutes and are compensated at EUR 300 per session, with travel, accommodation and meals covered. Open to current or former sex workers, and to allies with experience in digital rights, digital discrimination, digital security and related fields. SESSION STRANDS: Digital (W)horrors, naming the threats faced online and unpacking how surveillance, censorship and platform policy work against sex workers, including shadowbanning and algorithmic censorship, over-zealous content moderation, law enforcement and third-party surveillance, deplatforming, non-consensual data scraping and retention, and the platforms and policies that enable them; Building Resilience, practical hands-on skills covering open source and privacy-respecting software, how and why to divest from Big Tech platforms, alternative and encrypted communication tools, digital security basics such as protecting data, devices and identity, and other harm-reduction strategies for working and organising online; Imagining Better Futures, creative forward-looking sessions on what a sex worker friendly internet would look like, including prototyping inclusive digital tools, platforms and spaces built by and for sex workers, new apps, alternative social platforms, community-owned tech, and speculative design exercises; Resourcing the Group, sessions focused on care and resilience, including writing and reflection, grounding and somatic exercises, tools for self-care and sustainability in activism, and space for radical rest. The organisers welcome grounded, political and creative contributions from anyone who would like to lead a session. Separate application forms for participants and for session proposals are linked from the call page. Questions: ana@eswalliance.org.
Cultuurloket DigitALL funds the digital innovation of the Dutch cultural sector and is the strongest dedicated digital-culture route currently open to Dutch cultural organisations. It is the successor to the discontinued Kickstart Cultuurfonds, backed by the VandenEnde Foundation, VSBfonds, Ammodo, Het Cultuurfonds and others. The pilot contribution of up to EUR 75,000 supports developing and running a first pilot, prototype or live version of a digital tool, which covers a wide range of creative-technology work embedded in festivals, exhibitions and public programmes. Eligible applicants are theatres, music venues, film theatres, museums, festivals and professional performing arts producers, with collaborations between institutions given priority. The pilot must be tested with the intended public audience, not only with experts, and funding cannot be used exclusively for hardware acquisition. Applications go through an online portal with no deadline and are handled in order of receipt. TIMING: a decision follows within ten weeks of submission, so plan roughly three months of lead time between applying and project start. Training and knowledge development through partner organisations is only covered when included in the submitted budget, so build it in from the outset.
The WBSO (Wet Bevordering Speur- en Ontwikkelingswerk) is the Dutch R&D tax credit administered by RVO. It reduces payroll/wage tax for companies with R&D staff and provides an income-tax deduction for self-employed people doing R&D; it is a tax credit, not a cash grant. For 2026 the benefit is 36 percent of the first EUR 380,000 of R&D wage and other costs (50 percent for qualifying startups) and 16 percent above that; self-employed receive a fixed deduction (and need at least 500 R&D hours per year). Eligible applicants are Dutch companies and self-employed people paying payroll or income tax who carry out qualifying R&D in the EU. Applications are made in advance via Mijn RVO and cannot be retroactive; for coverage of the final three months of a year the deadline is 30 September. Time-keeping and project administration are required. No application fee.
SIDN fonds (the foundation behind the .nl domain registry) invests in daring projects with societal added value that contribute to a strong internet and strong internet users. The Pioneers track is continuously open and awards up to EUR 10,000 to develop an innovative idea into a demo, pilot or experimental design; it is open to both individuals and legal entities. Larger projects are funded through theme calls issued once or twice a year (legal entities only). Projects must show innovation and public value and share their results openly; plain website or app building and purely B2B proposals are excluded. No application fee.