Case study: Camden Giving pilot

Civic Say is used to enhance civic engagement and gather public opinions, providing charities with the tools they need to connect with their audiences, collect valuable feedback, and make informed decisions. To learn more about what we do, check out introductory post.

Recently, we had the privilege of collaborating with Camden Giving, an independent charity dedicated to ending local poverty and inequality in Camden. Camden Giving utilised our Civic Say to facilitate the allocation of grants for their Equality fund, targeting the specific inequalities faced by people living with disabilities and/or people from global majority backgrounds. Read more about the Equality Fund and the other great work Camden Giving do here.

The Pilot

The pilot, which lasted three weeks, was an exciting opportunity to see Civic Say in action. Our platform was used to facilitate funding decisions made by a group of 10 grant panellists. Here are some key highlights from the pilot.

• Streamlined engagements
  • The platform allowed engagements to be created beforehand and allowed the moderator of the panel to open and close polls for each funding application as and when they were needed.
• Real-time insights
  • With Civic Say’s real-time analytics, the Camden Giving team were able to immediately access the data collected from the panellists. This rapid feedback loop meant that less time was spent gauging outcomes, creating more time for the key conversations in the room.

Outcomes and Impact

The pilot demonstrated the power of community-led decision-making and the effectiveness of Civic Say in supporting such initiatives.

• £240,000 was awarded in grants to empower organisations tackling ableism and racism in Camden
• 8 organisations were funded by a panel of local residents
• Over 230 votes were cast through Civic Say over the span of 2 weeks

"It's design is clean and easy to use. People found it easy to log in and vote."

"It's helpful to see different trends in voting in a very visual way."

"It has helped us support communities to make decisions."

"I found it very easy to use and straight forward"

Civic Say as a facilitator and not a decision maker

Civic Say’s primary role is to facilitate community engagement and stakeholder decision-making - the platform is not designed to replace the people who sit at the heart of it all.

We provide the tools needed for organisations like Camden Giving to collect and analyse feedback from their local community. We ensure that the community's perspectives are at the forefront of funding decision-making, and that technology only enhances the process rather than undermine it.

Our goal is to enable charities to focus on interpreting data and making informed decisions, rather than managing the logistics of data collection. By positioning ourselves as a facilitator, Civic Say ensures that Camden Giving, as well as other charities, can leverage community insights whilst maintaining the user's autonomy and responsibility of making final funding decisions. This approach empowers the community and aligns with the core values of participatory grant-making, ensuring that funded solutions are those the community truly needs and supports.

Conclusion

The pilot with Camden Giving highlighted the transformative potential of Civic Say in participatory grant-making. By providing a digital infrastructure tailored to the charity sector, Civic Say empowers stakeholders to engage actively, share insights, and collectively shape outcomes.

We look forward to continuing our work with Camden Giving and other organisations dedicated to making a difference. If you’d like to schedule a demo or learn more about how Civic Say can benefit your charity, please get in touch with us at hello@civicsay.com.