Legislation
The way in which each community centre operates is governed by the Policy (Decreet van 6 juli 2012 betreffende het Lokaal Cultuurbeleid). Each centre draws up its own Local Cultural Policy Plan. together with its local partners (including the library and the municipal service for Dutch-speaking culture). Read more about Local Cultural Policy in Brussels and download the plans of each municipality.
The community centres must adhere to the VGC Regulation of 2012. In this context, each community centre has concluded a covenant with the VGC, in which the assignments and the division of responsibilities are laid down. In 2021, new covenants have been concluded between the VGC and each Community Centre, based on a common model covenant. The new covenant will run from the end of 2021 to 2025.
Since there is a new non-profit law since 1 May 2020, the non-profit community centres will also review their statutes. They will be rewritten no later than 2022.
Policy
The policy of the community centres fell until recently under the strategic long-term plan for 2016-2020 of the VGC’s General Directorate of Culture, Youth and Sport.
For the new policy period 2021-2025, there is one strategic long-term plan for the entire VGC. It came about in a participative way and formulates objectives for all organisational parts. A multiannual budget is linked to the multiannual plan.
For the implementation of the multi-year strategic plan, the entity manager of the Community Centres Entity draws up a Management and Operational Plan. In it, he formulates how the community centres will concretely contribute to the objectives of the multi-year plan in the coming years.
In addition, each community centre drew up a local cultural policy plan for the period 2020-2025 together with the local partners. For each community centre, it contains the locally inspired strategic choices and actions. The local cultural policy plans give direction to the operation of the community centres, in close cooperation with their local partners.
Want to know more about the local culture policy plans? Read more about it and take a look at the plans.
Financing
The community centres mainly receive funds from the VGC. In addition, there are extra resources from the municipality or project subsidies on request (from Flanders, federal, European, via funds, etc.).
To give an idea, in 2021 these amounts are roughly budgeted:
- More than 10.6 million euros for personnel
- More than 1.3 million euro in operating funds (mainly in the form of subsidies to the community centres, also funds for management and maintenance of IT, communication, insurance, technical costs, ...)
In addition, there are annual investment budgets, for example for renewing the infrastructure.