As yet unclear which projects will be affected
City cuts 200,000 euros from RUG partnership
The city of Groningen is making cutbacks to the tune of thirty million euros and is lowering its contribution.
The Accords allow the RUG to support joint initiatives with other institutes. The funds are used to hire a project leader for At Home in Groningen, a website that informs international students about the housing market. The recent Standup Economics Festival and the International Welcome Centre North are also (partially) funded by the Accords.
Which projects will be affected by the cutbacks is as yet unclear. In early November, the seven parties involved – RUG, Hanze, UMCG, Alfa College, Noorderpoort, the province, and the municipality – will get together to discuss what will happen.
Four-year plan signed
The city is currently contributing half a million euros a year to the partnership. The other parties each contribute 125,000 euros, with the Alfa College and Noorderpoort putting in that amount as one. The total annual budget is currently 1.1 million. This will become 900,000 euros in 2021.
The Groningen Accords were set up in 2005. Their goal was to maximise collaboration between educational institutes and the municipality. Last November, RUG president Jouke de Vries was one of the people who signed a four-year plan focusing on energy, digitisation, and healthy ageing.
‘We’d like to continue the projects set forth in the Accords’, says RUG spokesperson Jorien Bakker, who bemoans the city’s cutbacks. Whether the RUG is prepared to up its contribution to compensate for the cutbacks, she couldn’t say.