CIVIC CHARGE
An Accelerator for Social Accountability Change Agents
Civic Charge is a year-long catalytic journey for change makers who are implementing innovative approaches to strengthen social accountability in Bangladesh, Belize, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mexico, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somaliland, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The Lab’s Accountability Incubator has provided training and support to over 300 young change-makers across 13 countries over the past decade. Having incubated various accountability-related projects, we’ve gained a lot of insight on the needs of the innovators in our incubators, and we have used those learnings to create Civic Charge: An Accelerator for Social Accountability Change Agents.
It targets individuals (or leaders within an organization) working on inclusion, climate justice, digital governance, or expanding civic agency. Consisting of monthly virtual learning and peer engagement sessions, Civic Charge is designed to provide practical support to catalyze the scale and impact of existing programs. The stackable curriculum will support innovators to work on critical areas like institutional strengthening, advanced project management, and communications and strategic engagement, amongst other themes. The program is a perfect fit for curious problem-solvers who want to be part of a global learning network.
Applications are open here until November 24, 2023! Get in touch and please help us spread the word about this opportunity.
Young Liberian activist Miatta Mulbah brought her small anti-rape NPO to our Accountability Incubator. We helped Miatta build Leemah into an organisation that successfully uses music and street theater to advocate against sexual harassment and abuse on behalf of girls in Montserrado and Margibi counties.
Tanzila Khan is a young Pakistani woman who founded innovative empowerment company Girlythings that advocates around period health and destigmatization.
Mujtaba Zaidi Hassan founded Discovering New Artists (DNA), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing education through arts to children in Pakistan. With the support of the Accountability Incubator, he pivoted the initiative to focus on ideas of civic engagement and responsibility within Pakistani society.
IMPACT TO DATE
More than 300 accountapreneurs have passed through our incubators, with ideas ranging from integrity watch groups at primary schools; to building networks of music artists pushing for integrity; to tools using blockchain to secure elections.
Changes the accountapreneurs have created include: pushing for budgets to be allocated to schools more effectively (Pakistan); changes to policies implemented by mining companies (Liberia); and the resolution of hundreds of accountability problems for migrants (Nepal).
INCUBATOR FAQs
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
To be eligible for Civic Charge, you must:
THE IDEA PROPOSED BY THE CANDIDATE SHOULD BE:
Context-Specific: Does the idea demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the community it will support?
Feasible: How likely is it that the idea proposed will be achieved over time? Creative: Is the idea for accountability truly innovative?
Sustainable: Does the candidate have a plan for how the project can continue over time? Is the idea designed to have a long-term impact?
Scalable: Will the idea create a model for accountability that could be expanded to other communities?
*The applicant/project/idea must not be grounded in or focused on a specific political agenda or party.