Previous projects

The best way to give you an idea of the type of projects we support is to give you a list of the projects we have supported in the past.

There have been two previous rounds of the Democratic Engagement Innovation Fund – the first was launched in 2006 and the second in 2007. In each round, the Ministry of Justice selected eight projects to support with grants of up to £15,000. A list of these successful projects is below, along with summaries and updates about successes and learning from last year.

Gallomanor Communications Ltd – CivicSurf

In collaboration with Norfolk Council, this project developed a film that captures a councillor’s experience of learning how to blog. The film was screened at a series of events aimed at encouraging civic leaders to blog. Training and a step-by-step instruction guide to blogging was also made available.

For more information on the project, its successes and the learning that emerged, click here.

Involve – Teleparticipation

This project investigated how national participation can be linked to mass media operations by observing the America Speaks exercise in California. The resulting report was distributed to interested government departments, and now informs projects that incorporate television and other mass media elements.

For more information on the project, its successes and the learning that emerged, click here.

Milo Creative Ltd – “mPower”

This project developed a website designed for 14-16 year olds that uses a mash up of applications such as YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and Google maps. On the website, young people can find out what other young people in their area think about political issues, and they can upload their own content, images or video. The project was subsequently renamed "blogmaps".

For more information on the project, its successes and the learning that emerged, click here.

MySociety – GroupsNearYou

This project produced a website that provides information about online communities by aggregating existing email lists, blogs and website according to geographic area. The site aims to increase the range of information available about local communities and develop a user-generated database of location, size and remit of the different local communities.

For more information on the project, its successes and the learning that emerged, click here.

UK Youth Parliament – Joint Surgery Initiative

This project aimed to deliver 12 joint surgeries across the UK involving MPs, members of the UKYP and young people. These aimed to increase young people’s understanding of the democratic process and structures, and raise the profile of young people’s issues.

For more information on the project, its successes and the learning that emerged, click here.

Speakers' Corner Trust

This project developed a model through which the public, voluntary and private sectors along with local community groups, politicians and others can create new opportunities for open, face-to-face public discussion and debate. The initiative was trialled in Nottingham and is now being expanded to other locations across the country.

For more information on the project, its successes and the learning that emerged, click here.

Solent People’s Theatre – Engaging, Entertainment and Effective Project

This project designed, delivered and evaluated a series of creative workshops and meetings for local authorities, including a theatrical element. Participatory workshops were piloted in Thanet District council, Kent and South Ribble Borough Council and Lancashire.

For more information on the project, its successes and the learning that emerged, click here.

English Secondary Students’ Association - ESSA

This project developed a training programme and supporting materials to help young people aged 11-19 learn how to campaign on issues important to them. The programme included games, examples of successful local, national and international student campaigns, a list of support organisations and resources and information about how to register to vote.

For more information on the project, its successes and the learning that emerged, click  here.

Bristol City Council – Vlogging

This project encouraged people to use commonplace technology, such as mobile phones and digital cameras, to capture videos of their ideas and opinions. They then posted the videos on a website to engage with other citizens and local decision-makers. At the end of each debate, the website posted a filmed response by politicians / decision-makers.

For learning from the project, see the Bristol City Council evaluation of the project or go to the Viewfinder website

The Young Foundation - “Fix-My-Street” web mapping tool

This project is a web-based mapping tool that makes it easy for people to talk to their local authority and other local citizens about broken civic infrastructure in their neighbourhood. The tool transforms the act of reporting faults, turning it from a private one-to-one process into a public experience. It builds a sense of engagement and inclusion in the process of maintaining and improving infrastructure and the environment.

South Kesteven District Council – Online Citizen's Jury

This project developed an online citizens’ jury process that is available to any group wanting to work through the process. The online model enables the use of the citizens’ jury process without the costs and resource implications of managing the process offline. Download SKDC Citizens Jury - Evaluation Report (591.5K)

UK Citizens Online Democracy – TheyWorkForYou Application Programming Interface

This project built an online application that makes the software and data compiled by TheyWorkForYou.com available to third party developers to build other democratic tools. This project also piloted the development of an external site as a live example of the use of this interface - integrating Google Maps and MP statistics data.

Drew Mackie/Partnerships Online – Engagement Game for Government

This project developed and tested a workshop/simulation game that can be used to plan democratic engagement processes. The game helps people to think through what they are trying to do in a way that reveals key issues to address and interests to involve. The game is available online.

Local Democracy Campaign – Political Speed Dating/Pupil Power

This project designed and produced professional versions of the games ‘Political Speed Dating’ and ‘Pupil Power’. Political Speed Dating introduces a citizen to a representative in person, breaking down barriers and facilitating direct discussion. Pupil Power is a game based on Pokemon, introducing participants to the complexity of council decision-making and the challenges of prioritising community needs.

For further details, see the LGA's Local Democracy Campaign Guide to... Bringing Democracy to the Classroom or email localdemocracy@lga.gov.uk

Proboscis – Havelock Estate

This project explored how knowledge-mapping and sharing tools can be harnessed by a local community to stimulate connections between residents and increase levels of participation at local level.  Working with the Havelock Estate in West London, Proboscis designed a range of activities (online and offline) that encouraged participation and connections within the community and outside.

For more learning from the project, see Proboscis' evaluation report

English Secondary Students’ Association – Citizens’ Juries In Schools

This project trialed citizens’ juries in schools to provide students with the opportunity to become actively engaged in the democratic process. The jury process models a democratic process with young people in a school environment and allows young people to be involved in decision-making that affects them.  A set of resources on running citizens’ juries with young people was also developed.