What is next for funding organisations? How can we tackle change, diversity, internationalism and inclusion? How can we develop through evaluation and how can we create change through creativity? These questions were raised by Fonds Soziokultur during the revision of the past few years of ongoing crisis and the supportive federal funding called NEUSTART KULTUR.

Around 80 bright minds from five different countries working in funding organisations in the cultural sector at local, regional, national and European level discussed these fundamental issues. They met in a one-day workshop called Resilience & Relevance, which took place in Cologne, Stuttgart, Berlin and Leipzig. The Fonds’ journey – from project to process funding after listening to his fundees – exemplified the transformation of funding schemes and new relationships to the needs of cultural practitioners.

Guest speaker Alessandra Cianetti (London), curator and arts project manager, led interactive sessions on how to become more diverse and international. Inez Boogaarts (Rotterdam), cultural scientist and consultant, reinvented what evaluation can (also) be, if we expect it to be useful and even playful for all sides. And Eddy Adams, a UK-based urban policy expert at European level, linked the creative sector to the global crisis and the impact of positive stories and participatory activities.

The in-person workshops were the start of a subsequent online network of funding organisations that attended the workshops. As we all face times of transformation, there is a need to share knowledge and connect resources to address the huge challenges in society and culture.