By doing so, the Society and the Academy aim to encourage the sustainable growth of this area of activity.

In Dutch

Ground-breaking collaborations between artists and scientists can hardly benefit from existing fund schemes for culture or science. This is the conclusion of the Society of Arts and The Young Academy following a survey among culture and science funds. In a letter to Robbert Dijkgraaf, Minister of Education, Culture and Science, they call for the setting up of a national fund to enable cross-fertilisation between artistic and academic research and to support collaborations between artists and scientists.

They advise the minister to establish an arts and science (AxS) pilot fund for a period of three years with a budget of 11 million euros, in cooperation with the state cultural funds, NWO and Taskforce for Applied Research SIA. They also provide specific guidelines on the setting up of the fund: on the type of research, the amounts awarded and the assessment of applications.

During their survey, the Society of Arts and The Young Academy encountered a great deal of enthusiasm and drive. They expect that with the right resources, the development of promising initiatives will be strengthened and accelerated, expanding the innovative capacity of the Netherlands.

The advice regarding the AxS fund was prepared by a joint AxS committee of the Society of Arts, The Young Academy and members of the Academy. The committee was chaired by Micha Hamel, composer, poet, researcher and a member of the Society of Arts, and co-chaired by Frans Snik, astronomer at Leiden University and alumnus of The Young Academy.

For more information, please contact Annelies ten Have: annelies.ten.have@knaw.nl