THE CIVICS: Civic Innovation Fund 2024-2025
Overview
The Civic Innovation Fund (CIF) is a unique European pooled fund launched by THE CIVICS Innovation Hub. It aims to pioneer new ideas in civil society, enhance their visibility and integrate them into NECE, a growing pan-European network of civic educators. The fund supports start-up ideas in civic education that apply interdisciplinary, intersectional, intergenerational, and inclusive approaches which lead to greater resilience, diversity, and collaboration in democracy.
Each project receives between 10,000 € and 12,000 € for piloting, incubation and scaling up for the period of 12 months.
The Civic Innovation Fund is supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung.
Eligibility Criteria
- Projects should be startups in civic education that focus on strengthening democratic competencies that promote participation, cohesion, and resilience. Project ideas can range from workshops, cultural interventions, eyewitness talks, exhibitions, scientific studies, scenario methods, to apps, or augmented reality storyboards.
- Projects should align with one of the NECE topics:
- Memory & history discourses,
- Foresight & forecasting,
- Financial & economic literacy,
- Education for sustainable development & climate change,
- Health & wellbeing,
- Democractic participation,
- Cultural practices,
- Media & digital literacy,
- Artificial intelligence,
- Demographic change,
- War & peace,
- Migration & integration,
- Diversity & inclusion, and
- Culture & arts.
- Projects should be carried out in a transnational partnership with at least one partner (individual, organisation, etc.) from wider Europe. The main implementing organisation should be based in a European country. The partnership can be set up across sectors, but one of the partnering organisations should come from either the formal or non-formal/informal civic education sector.
- Projects should incorporate the principles of diversity, interdisciplinarity, and inclusiveness.
Well-established NGOs are eligible to send their applications. However, during the assessment process, priority will be given to younger NGOs and projects. Projects should relate to one of the NECE topics:
- Memory & history discourse
- Foresight & forecasting
- Financial & economic literacy
- Education for sustainable development & climate change
- Health & wellbeing
- Democratic participation
- Cultural practices
- Media & digital literacy
- Artificial Intelligence
- Demographic change
- War & peace
- Migration & integration
- Diversity & inclusion
- Culture & arts
Projects should be carried out by at least 2 partners from different European countries in a transnational partnership. The partnership can be set up across sectors, but one of the partnering organisations should come from either the formal or non-formal/informal civic education sector. Projects should incorporate the principles of diversity, interdisciplinarity, inclusivity, intersectionality and intergenerationality.
Eligible costs
These should be direct costs related to the implementation of the project. Office costs should constitute max. 10 %. Such costs as, for example, catering cannot be covered by CIF.
Notes:
The projects chosen for the 2023-2024 funding will be invited to present their ideas at the NECE Festival 2023 FUTURES! (Madrid, 30 Nov – 2 Dec 2023). Moreover, participants will have the opportunity to showcase the outcomes of their projects at NECE Festival 2024 BORDERS! (end of 2024).