New funding opportunity: Community Tech Discovery Fund
We’re excited to announce that applications for the Community Tech Discovery Fund will open on Thursday 1st June!
Developed in partnership between Power To Change and Promising Trouble, the Discovery Fund will offer 20 community businesses and organisations the opportunity to put £12,000 towards their journey with community tech – technology created by and for communities - and become part of an inspiring community of practice.
Even better, you don’t need to be an experienced community technologist or even all that knowledgeable about tech to apply. The Discovery Fund is aimed at organisations who are interested in exploring how they can use technology to make a real difference to people, planet and places, but need the space to imagine, experiment and innovate.
In other words, all you need are some great ideas, plenty of curiosity and a willingness to share your experiences with others.
Here are just a few examples of the way community tech is already being created and used by the community businesses we are currently supporting:
Databases and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, helping community businesses in a host of ways. For Friends of Stretford Public Hall, this ensures effective governance of their community space through the better management of community shares, and it helps Trinity Community Arts to understand more about the people and communities they serve. The Bristol Cable uses its CRM to put democratic participation at the heart of their approach to local media.
Data dashboards, spanning everything from the home energy management system created by Carbon Co-op, through to monitoring and improving air quality at Knowle West Media Centre.
Digital platforms, shifting power away from institutions and towards communities. For example, co-operatives Signalise and Equal Care are creating new models of care and support that challenge the status quo and put power in the hands of people accessing and providing local services.
Buying and selling goods online, for example supporting local food production Tamar Grow Local, and helping to match donations of unwanted tech up to recipients who are experiencing digital exclusion – such as Solidaritech and Community TechAid.
In other words, community tech is helping to sustain our planet, contributing towards the circular economy, addressing food insecurity and tackling the devastating effects of climate change. It is helping to empower communities and strengthen our social fabric by creating more equitable access to services, and enabling communities to create value on their own terms. And it is nurturing places, creating spaces for arts, culture and heritage to thrive.
As one member of our growing community describes it:
“We're literally building our community from the bottom up. That's the most important thing to come out of this [community tech] - it's given me ownership of my community. It's giving people different choices, better choices about how things can be. And it feels like only the beginning."
Bristol resident and supporter of Knowle West Media Centre
To find out more and apply, please head on over to Power To Change where you can find all the information you need. Please note that the closing date for applications is 21st July 2023.
You can also join a webinar to meet the team behind the programme, ask questions and connect with like-minded people, taking place on Thursday 8th June (1-2pm) and Tuesday 13th June (6-7pm).
We’re committed to making the Discovery Fund as inclusive as possible. If you have any particular access or support requirements, we would be happy to help. Please get in touch at communitytech@powertochange.org.uk for more information.