The Council for Culture has launched an advisory process on supervision in the cultural and creative sector. With its Governance Committee, the council is investigating how internal supervision can be improved so that organisations can function sustainably and strengthen their position. The advice is expected to be presented around summer 2025.
Why this advice?
Supervision in the cultural and creative sector is well established in many places. With great commitment and almost always on a voluntary basis, supervisors contribute to a flourishing cultural life. Minister Eppo Bruins of Education, Culture and Science indicates in his request for advice that there is room for improvement. The council shares this observation. Good supervision is essential, especially in times of social and financial challenges.
Research questions
What does supervision need to be stronger and further professionalised? What hinders good supervision and where are the opportunities? The Governance Committee will examine these questions along various axes. Topics covered in the advice include: the (statutory) duties of a supervisor, the influence of behaviour and culture, current governance models and supervisory oversight. The committee also includes in its advice the Governance Code for Culture: what role does it play in strengthening supervision?
The study explicitly takes into account the governance challenges of both large and small organisations.
Advisory Committee
For this advice, the council is working with a committee of external experts. The committee members bring a lot of knowledge of the (semi)public sector and the cultural sector in particular. During the process, the committee regularly consults the field to gather insights.
The committee consists of:
- Wilma Gillis-Burleson (chairman) is trained as a lawyer and has experience in various supervisory positions in the financial sector, healthcare, welfare and culture (Rabobank, Maasstad Hospital, Stichting Bevordering van Volkskracht, Black Impact Foundation, Theater Zuidplein). She is also director of the B for You Foundation in Rotterdam.
- Nancy Jouwe (also a councillor) has worked extensively in the academic and social fields on the themes of women's rights, slavery history, transcultural exchange and heritage in a postcolonial context. Within the cultural sector, she is active as a curator, researcher, advisor and programme maker. She was the Dutch chair of the supervisory board of Mama Cash.
- Cees Langeveld is theatre director (Chassé Theatre, DeLaMar) and chairman of the supervisory board of the Theatre Alliance. As an economist, he obtained a PhD in 'Economics of the theatre'. He also held the chair Economics of the performing arts (EUR) and was a member of the Council for Culture.
- Jan Stolker is an independent governance consultant and founder of the Erasmus Governance Institute. For Erasmus School of Economics/EURAC, he is Director Leadership & Governance. He held supervisory board and supervisory positions in Western Europe in the commercial and non-profit sectors (culture, education, recreation).
- Jacqueline Stolmeijer-Arends - lawyer, independent governance and operations consultant, (co)author of several governance in culture articles and editor-in-chief of the professional journal Good Governance & Supervision. She is initiator of Platform Governance in Culture, which is committed to promoting dialogue, and is conducting PhD research on governance ethics.
- Hedwig Verhoeven was involved in the creation of the Governance Code for Culture. She holds supervisory positions at Codarts, Filmhuis Den Haag and Domus Spinoza Foundation. She was director at the Cultural Participation Fund and is now business director ad interim at the Dordrechts Museum.
