A FREIRAUM residency allows artists and independent groups to work without any predetermined outcomes. Unlike earmarked funding programmes, there is no requirement to produce a finished product, such as a performance, at the end of the residency. Instead, FREIRAUM offers the opportunity to conduct research, explore ideas and pursue theatrical experiments and questions without the pressure of a premiere.

The theatre managers of the network theatres decide on the allocation of FREIRAUM residencies in a democratic selection process.

The proposal and selection process for the Freiraum module is similar to that for co-production. However, Freiraum projects are not usually co-productions, but rather projects that cannot be considered or are difficult to fit into other funding modules (including those outside the NFT). These may include, for example, work or research phases, thematic scholarships or unusual formats. The module attempts to enable artistic work and reflection processes beyond conventional funding logic and to address barriers to access and structural problems.