Civic Innovation Fellowship
Micro Program - Spring 2023
We believe civic innovation is an essential exercise of community empowerment.
To intentionally foster civic innovation, including equity-related projects, we've developed this program to give innovators the additional resources. We seek fellows who are passionate about bringing change to our community. Fellows understand how challenging this work can be, and bring a sense of humility combined with a track record of perseverance. We encourage fellows from all backgrounds but prioritize funding for those from historically underrepresented groups or those working on equity-related projects. Your project can be in the "idea" or "ready to pilot" phase. You need to be committed to taking action during the fellowship but not need to have demonstrated progress to apply. Applicants are individuals who have a civic project or idea that is ready for a pilot phase up to micro-organizations (budgets under $10,000). Projects do not need to be tech or data related, but participants need to demonstrate how tech and data support their goals.
Successful Applicants receive:
​
-
Cohort of peers working to improve the community
-
Showcase for you to share and discuss your project and its progress
-
$500 stipend
What is expected:
-
Flexibility and openness
-
Willingness to help other cohort members find success
-
Participation in an end-of-program showcase where you will share your progress
​
How applicants are chosen:
This year we will be leveraging technology to make this process more transparent. This will include both the application process and also the process for reconciling/ending the fellowship.
​
Decision criteria:
Feasibility of project
Demonstrated commitment
Impact of support (how much does this fellowship mean)
Relation to civic innovation/tech/data
​
Priority given to fellows from historically underepresented backgrounds
Priority given to previous CCI fellows who successfully completed the fellowship
Priority given to equity-related projects
​
Bringing Web3 to our fellowship
As a pioneering community of innovators, we are constantly striving to push the boundaries of what is possible in order to create a more equitable and inclusive environment for our fellowship. We will be trialing during this 2023 cohort Web3 proposals and voting systems. We see the opportunity for a new era of democratic decision-making, where more our community has a voice in determining the allocation of fellowship stipends. This decentralized approach not only fosters a sense of ownership and accountability among our members but also ensures that our processes remain open, transparent, and resistant to manipulation. A successful pilot has the potential to create a secure, trustless environment where the collective wisdom of our community members drives the distribution of resources. This will enable us to allocate stipends based on merit and impact, ultimately empowering our fellows to pursue their innovative projects with confidence.