CIVICUS Digital Action Lab 2024 for civil society organisations from the Global South ($30,000 USD grant)

Applications are open for the CIVICUS Digital Action Lab (DAL) 2024. The CIVICUS Digital Action Lab (DAL) initiative empowers civil society actors in countries facing restricted civic space, with the skills, resources and confidence to take effective action for inclusive democracy.

To cultivate real-world pilot projects that strengthen the organising, advocacy, and campaign capacities of participating civil society groups in the Global South, including via enhanced collaboration with local allies.

Requirements

• The Digital Action Lab (DAL) is open to civil society organisations from the Global South, that are actively involved in advancing inclusive democracy civic space.
• Organisations representing historically excluded groups, such as rural communities, indigenous peoples, women, youth, and the LGBT+ community, are encouraged to apply or be nominated, and will make up at least 50% of each cohort.
• DAL will also be prioritising organisations from countries with restricted civic space.
• The programme seeks collaborators who are committed to shaping and testing digital interventions to strengthen their organising, advocacy, and campaign capacities, or other organisational systems and capabilities which underpin this work

Benefits

Create and control your DAL experience:

Participate in an initial in-person co-creation workshop to define your DAL cohort’s joint priorities and ways of working together, along with a discovery process to identify the focus of your specific pilot project.

Tailored skill enhancement and confidence building:

Seize the chance to improve your skills through tailored workshops and training plans which address the unique needs and challenges of your organisation. DAL is committed to building your confidence, empowering you with the knowledge and expertise  to leverage new digital opportunities for your work.

Take existing work to the next level:

Rather than start from scratch, DAL projects will focus on enhancing your current strategies and approaches, to maximise impact and sustainability. You already know what is needed to deliver real change for inclusive democracy. The DAL will simply help you to unlock your digital potential.

Explore and test digital solutions:

Receive funding and support to find the digital tools and approaches you need to overcome persistent challenges or turbo-charge your existing practices. This could be directly related to enhancing your organising, advocacy, and campaign work, or strengthening the organisational systems and capacities these activities depend on.

Financial support for participation and implementation:

Access a grant ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 USD to fund both your costs of participating in the DAL and the implementation of your DAL pilot project.

Structured format for meaningful engagement:

Participate in the DAL via online collaboration platforms, virtual workshops, localised implementation activities, and at least one in-person workshop. This combination of settings and formats aims to maximise opportunities for engagement with the DAL team, peer-learning, and community building

How it works

• DAL will use an open nomination and application process to select DAL cohorts of up to ten civil society organisations.
• Over a nine month period, these participants will work with the CIVICUS team, technical experts, and each other to develop a fully funded project which will be delivered in their local setting. Grants will range from $10,000 to $30,000 USD.
• Participants will also receive extensive coaching and additional non-financial support throughout the process, along with opportunities for engagement with wider networks and events.
• There will be three DAL cohorts between 2024 and 2026.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the CIVICUS Digital Action Lab