Piloting, Innovation & Scaling
“Education is a fundamental enabler of an active and informed citizenship and thus, for democratic participation”.
Report A9-0060/2022 of the European Parliament
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 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 CIF aims to support primary young civic educators (under 35) and young NGOs (under 3 years of existence). The awarded startups also qualify as informal NECE Impact Spots, amplifying their ideas and promoting non-formal civic education in their countries. Additionally, chosen projects are involved in all NECE activities.
All the projects CIF has supported can be found here.
Eligibility Criteria
Projects should be startups in the sphere of 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, and scenario methods, to apps, or augmented reality storyboards.
Projects should relate to one of the NECE topics or a specific topic of the call (applicable to thematic calls).
Projects should be carried out in a transnational partnership by at least 2 partners (individuals, organisations, etc.) from wider Europe with the lead partner from 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.
Call for civic innovation projects
Two thematic CIF calls are now open! Within these calls, each successful project proposal will receive 10,000€ for piloting, incubation and upscaling of their idea within 12 months. Do not miss the chance to make your civic projects come true.
- Ethics in Artificial Intelligence for the projects on ethical and human-rights considerations related to artificial intelligence
- Me-(e)conomics for the projects fostering economic and financial literacy
Feel free to follow us on social media to be updated on our upcoming calls.
FAQ
How do we define “civic education”?
We apply a definition of civic education following the wording and recommendation of the Council of Europe.
Are well-established NGOs (more than 3 years of existence) eligible to apply?
Yes, well-established NGOs are eligible to send their applications as well. However, during the assessment process, priority will be given to younger NGOs and projects.
Can applications be submitted by teams other than civic educators and NGOs?
Yes, we welcome projects proposed by the university teams and SMEs too. However, it is important to note that the projects submitted by these teams must be directly related to the field of civic education.
What costs can be covered by CIF?
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.
I do not have a partner for my project. Where can I find them?
If you have difficulties with finding partners, check our virtual map of civic educators which offers you a great variety of partners in civic education to network and cooperate with.
The Civic Innovation Fund is supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, Porticus Amsterdam C.V., ERSTE Foundation, and King Baudouin Foundation.
In case of questions, feel free to reach out to cif@thecivics.eu
