PRO Schemes

The PRO schemes are intended to support and strengthen The Hague's arts climate.

There are several PRO schemes:

• Art Projects

• Research

• Art program

• Invest

• PRO Deo

PRO application submission
Applications for PRO schemes can be submitted on predetermined dates throughout the year. An annual schedule including the closing dates for the respective scheme forms can be found in the side column on this webpage. Substantive conditions apply to each of the individual PRO schemes. See the notes on the various PRO schemes for a description of the target group, framework, required information and evaluation criteria. In addition, formal application and documentation submission criteria apply.

Budget
Budgets for PRO schemes should be prepared on the basis of a model budget. This can be found on the website of Stroom. The budget enters budgeted income and expenses, and indicates which budgeted costs will be covered by the requested PRO scheme. It is important that the costs listed and the coverage plan are reasonable and realistic and that there is a demonstrable deficit so that a grant contribution from Stroom is necessary. For large-scale projects (such as large exhibitions/ manifestations/ festivals), or where the applicant applies to Stroom for a sub-project, in addition to the model budget of the sub-project, the total budget of the project should also be supplied. The final financial report after completion of an awarded project is also prepared on the basis of this model budget. By entering the actual income and expenses, in the second column, the original plan and the realization can be compared.

Guideline artist's fee
Stroom endorses the guideline artist's fee and wants to stimulate its use (www.kunstenaarshonorarium.nl). That is why Stroom will check whether the guideline has been applied when assessing project applications.

Amount of financial contribution
For the PRO subsidies there is a maximum amount to be awarded which differs per subsidy type and is bound to certain conditions. If an application for PRO Art Projects and PRO Art Program exceeds € 5,000, co-financing is required. The co-financing must cover a substantial amount of the total budget and cover at least 30% of the coverage plan.

Advice
Stroom offers the opportunity to request an interview on the subject or to have a draft reviewed prior to submitting a PRO proposal. Draft applications can be considered no later than two weeks before the submission date. The advice from Stroom to the applicant are recommendations and are separate from the final assessment of the advisory committee PRO.

Advisory committee PRO
The PRO advisory committee evaluates applications and advises the artistic director. The committee consists of several members who meet in varying composition. The members are artists from inside and outside The Hague, persons with an art appreciative background (critics, writers, theorists) or who have thorough knowledge of and are active in the field of contemporary (visual) art and related disciplines. The composition of the committee can be found on Stroom's website.

Assessment
In the case of a PRO application, five members of the committee give an advice based on specific expertise (the chairman and secretary do not have voting rights and do not give advice). These five advisory committee members receive copies of the application in preparation for the meetings. Based on the application, the budget and the documentation provided, the committee arrives at an opinion. Important assessment criteria are the quality of the work, the importance of the submitted proposal, the contribution to (improvement and strengthening of) the art climate in The Hague, increasing the visibility of art and artists in The Hague.If the committee has not received sufficient clarity about the proposal, it may decide to request additional information or possibly invite the applicant for an explanation.

Handling
The applicant will receive a formal award or rejection letter after the review in the PRO Advisory Committee. After receiving this letter, the applicant can indicate whether he/she wishes to receive a written argumentation. In case of a negative opinion, the applicant cannot resubmit the proposal (even in modified form). However, in the event of a negative opinion, the applicant may respond within 6 weeks of the date of the letter or written argumentation and request a request for reconsideration based on new information, perspectives and points of view. This request must not exceed 2 A4 pages. The request will be considered at the next meeting of the Advisory Committee. A condition for a request for reconsideration is that the project has not yet started when the advisory committee considers it.

Terms and conditions when granting application
The following terms and conditions apply to scheme awards.

Determination and payment of financial contribution
Financial contributions from PRO schemes are paid using an advance-declaration system. This means that when awards are made, an advance of 80% of the amount to be awarded may be paid. The remaining 20% is paid after the substantive report and financial justification are received and approved by the committee. The substantive report and financial justification must be submitted no later than 3 months after the completion of the project/program/work plan. The award is valid for two years after the relevant meeting date. If it appears that the allocation has been made wrongly Stroom Den Haag will withdraw the allocation. If it appears that the allocation has been made for too high an amount Stroom Den Haag will reduce the allocation and reclaim the excess amount. In the event that the project is not realized within the due date the entire advance will be reclaimed. If the submitted budget includes other financial contributions/ financing forms to fund the proposal, Stroom expects that the recipient of the award will be able to obtain this funding. Awards of financial contributions above € 5,000 are only granted on the condition that at least 30% of the project's coverage is formed by contributions from third parties, as indicated in the budget. Should this percentage not be achieved by the time the recipient submits the final account of the project to Stroom, the maximum financial contribution from the PRO scheme will be set at € 5,000.

Project extension request
If the project cannot be completed by the due date, the recipient submits an extension request to Stroom.

Interim change granted project
Changes to the project, both financial and substantive, require the prior written approval of Stroom. If at any time in the project/program/work plan substantial changes occur in the implementation, budget and coverage plan, the applicant must give prior written approval. Based on the proposed changes, it will be determined whether the awarded financial contribution can be used for this purpose.

Interim change of residence
If at any time during the project period there is a change in the place of residence of the applicant (e.g. the applicant moves out of The Hague and settles elsewhere), the 'Hague interest' of the proposal may be affected. Therefore, when moving to a different place of residence, the applicant should notify this in writing immediately. Based on the new situation and the status of the project, it will then be determined whether the financial contribution awarded can still be used, in whole or in part.

Evaluation
Retrospective accountability is required for PRO schemes. This takes the form of a written content report with relevant documentation and a financial statement.

Content report
The content report contains a summary of the original proposal, a description of the actual implementation of the project/program/work plan and an evaluation of the results, including findings and conclusions. The final content report is a maximum of 2 pages A4 and should be prepared based on the format final report available on the Stroom website. When evaluating a publication, the applicant should also submit two copies of the publication. These copies will become the property of Stroom.

Financial accountability
The financial account must be prepared on the basis of the model budget, as found on the website of Stroom.The financial accounting consists of a statement of income and expenses prepared in the same manner as the submitted budget, so that the budgeted and actual income and expenses can be properly compared.

• The recipient of the financial contribution should explain major discrepancies.

• At Stroom's request, the recipient shall provide all data that may be deemed necessary to conduct a financial audit.

• The recipient shall ensure that its accountant or accounting firm cooperates with the (audit) work performed by or on behalf of Stroom.

• The recipient will ensure that the accounts relating to the project are kept in a sound and orderly manner and that they provide an accurate and up-to-date picture of the income and expenditure of the project.These records contain properly prepared documents of all income and expenses, clearly showing the nature and extent of the goods and services provided and the income.

• The recipient ensures that the records are kept for two years after the determination of the financial contribution and can be viewed by Stroom.

• Digital submission of evaluation

• The evaluation (i.e. the final content and financial report and visual material) must be submitted digitally. The following conditions apply to submission:

• The final report should be submitted as a pdf file, with a maximum size of 5 Mb;
  the visual material should be submitted as a separate file. There is no maximum size for this.

Documentation
Included documentation becomes the formal property of Stroom Den Haag. In case of sketches, dummies, publications and models, Stroom offers the possibility of returning them after processing the application. A condition is that the applicant includes a sufficiently stamped return envelope with the documentation. Stroom The Hague is not liable for any damage or loss of documentation

All PRO scheme allocations must be accompanied by a the PRO final report at the end of the project period. Applicants should use a standard format for this purpose:

>> download here Format Substansive Report PRO Scheme

- download here Dutch Application form 2025 (.pdf)
- download here Dutch Budget Template Kunstprojecten-publicaties (.xlsx)

- download here Dutch Application form 2025 (.pdf)
- download here Dutch Budget Template Onderzoek (.xlsx)

- download here Dutch Application form 2025 (.pdf)
- download here Dutch budget template Kunstprogramma (.xlsx)

- download here Dutch Application form 2025 (.pdf)
- download here Dutch Format Invest 2025 (.doc)
- download here Dutch budget template Invest (.xlsx)