Nesta launches fund to stimulate ‘everyday democracy’
Innovation charity to award grants to projects that can combat fake news and promote transparency
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Nesta has launched a £100,000 fund to invest in projects that support “new forms of everyday democracy”.
The innovation charity is seeking proposals for pilot schemes designed to allow people to have a greater say in how their local public services are delivered. Nesta also wants to improve public sector transparency and encourage greater accountability for officials.
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The charity plans to award 10 grants of £10,000 each and will be looking for solutions to challenges such as how to combat fake news, establishing better means of “constructive disagreement”, improving the participation in democracy of marginalised groups, and enabling more effective power sharing.
Nesta said that its overarching aim is to ensure that democracy is not reduced to simply placing a tick in a box twice a decade.
Vicki Sellick, the organisation’s executive director of innovation programmes, said: “One thing is clear: people are crying out for ways to express their views, passions and positions in a way that is heard and acted upon, more frequently than at the ballot box every five years. The Democracy Pioneer Awards aim to stimulate participatory, open, and engaging conversations, where many more people feel part of building their community.”
Proposals can be submitted here.
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