The provinces of Groningen and Drenthe and the city of Groningen invest many millions every year in museums, theaters, music venues and festivals, but they have not clearly formulated what exactly they want to achieve with this. Objectives are formulated too vague and general.
This is the conclusion of the Northern Audit Chamber after a comparative study into the regional subsidy policy for the cultural sector. In Groningen, Drenthe and also Friesland, governments do not set enough concrete goals for the institutions they support, the NRK states in the report ‘Behind the scenes’.
According to the researchers, a sharper view of culture is extra important because more and more institutions are struggling due to strong cost increases. Also due to the increasing pressure to pay fair wages instead of the volunteer compensation with which the sector traditionally works.
Without additional support, the cultural sector will crumble
According to the audit office, provinces and city councils will therefore be faced with a choice in the coming years: increase their budget or accept that currently supported venues, groups and museums will collapse. In Drenthe, the cultural sector still receives 6.9 million annually from the province. In Groningen, the province and city council are significantly below this with a combined annual sum of 2.9 million.
Groningen can make do with less of its own money because the province has seven institutions that are funded by the government, from the Groninger Museum, North Netherlands Theater to the North Netherlands Orchestra. Together they receive more than 13 million annually, while the government contribution in Drenthe remains at 250,000 euros per year for the Drents Museum.
The provinces, and in Groningen also the city, each place their own emphasis on the money they contribute themselves. They have put a policy vision on paper for this purpose, but it only formulates general principles. For example, supported groups or museums must tell the region’s ‘own story’.
Lenders use policy goals that are difficult to measure
The problem with this, according to the audit office, is that it is difficult to measure whether such a goal is actually achieved with the subsidy. In Groningen, the province and city are advised on the distribution of their budget by a joint Arts Council. During an evaluation, he previously established that the principles of the subsidy policy are too general.
The Court of Audit now agrees with that conclusion in its report. She advises governments as lenders to set stricter targets for the subsidies provided and to monitor more closely whether they are achieved. The provinces will take action on these recommendations, it became clear on Thursday evening in Groningen during the presentation of the report to the Drenthe, Frisian and Groningen States.
Subsidies have helped cultural institutions through the corona crisis
Subsidies are indispensable to putting and keeping culture on the map, the researchers note. This became even more apparent during the past corona period. Many institutions were saved because the city and provinces did not demand money back because there was no performance in return due to the lockdowns. Additional subsidies were also crucial to survive and prevent a wave of layoffs in the sector.