NESTA, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, has joined forces with the Office of Civil Society to launch an open call for ideas to step up the giving and exchange of time, assets, skills, resources and money in England. A £10m ‘Innovation in Giving Fund’ has been set up to fund proposals that are thought to have the potential to transform the culture of giving across England. Levels of donations and volunteering have plateaued in the UK: lack of time or money, and bureaucracy are known to be key barriers, but a “lack of access to opportunities which allow people to give and exchange in a way which chimes with their values, interest, expertise, assets and availability” is seen as the critical problem, and the ideas supported by the fund will “make it easier and more compelling to give time and money.” Examples include collaborative and networked technologies that connect people to opportunities to give, share or take action; time credits, points systems or other complementary currencies; systems for people or organisations to share, exchange and redistribute assets, skills and resources; and ways of improving the targeting of pro bono support from commercial organisations – for example finding better ways to match needs with the availability of expertise. Proposals will need to demonstrate how they will be sustained beyond the support they receive from the Fund, and there will be no support for those that create ongoing demand for grant funding. NESTA will be conducting and publishing research into the insights gained through the Fund. The first call for ideas for the Innovation in Giving Fund is open from 7 September to 14 October.
