Civic Dollars project launches in Dublin, following successful pilot programme in Belfast
by Startacus Admin
Dublin 8 to trial innovative community currency scheme with Civic Dollars parks pilot programme to encourage use of public parks and drive better health outcomes.
Following a successful launch in Belfast earlier in the year, with over 3,000 hours of activity having been registered in participating Belfast parks, 1,530 Civic Dollars redeemed and 1,043 donated to community groups, we’re delighted to see that a new Civic Dollars pilot project has just been launched in Dublin.
Smart D8, a community driven health and technology initiative for Dublin 8 has introduced ‘Civic Dollars’ community currency to encourage use of public parks and drive better health outcomes for the community. Civic Dollars is the brainchild of Moai Digital founder Stephen McPeake and is the first major pilot project to be carried out under Smart D8, following an open call for projects in March this year.
The project, led by Dublin City Council, will use a smartphone app to reward visitors with the new Civic Dollars for spending time in participating Dublin 8 parks, which can then be exchanged for goods and services from local businesses or gifted to local community organisations. 5 parks in Dublin 8 are participating in the pilot and Dublin City Council aims to roll the scheme out to other parks under its control if it is a success.
Companies participating in Civic Dollars by offering direct rewards to users include Epic Ireland, The Bike Hub, Mobility Genie, and Little Bird Café. In addition, users can gift their Civic Dollars to participating community groups and organisations who can exchange these for a range of useful services such as marketing advice, IT consultations, legal consultations, and graphic design work.
.png)
Speaking on the initiative, Lord Mayor of Dublin Alison Gilliland said: “Dublin’s parks are an asset to the city, and during the pandemic many Dubliners have realised the importance of access to green space for recreation and leisure. We need to encourage increased use of our parks, and the Civic Dollars project will do that while having the added benefit of contributing to local businesses and community organisations. Civic Dollars and the wider Smart D8 project are prime examples of community-focused innovation which will improve the health and wellbeing of our citizens.”
Stephen McPeake, Founder and CEO of Moai Digital, said: “With a successful version of Civic Dollars already underway in Belfast, it is a great opportunity to bring the platform to Dublin. Users can use their dollars at forward thinking businesses like The Bike Hub, or Little Bird Café, or gift them to community groups who can then use them to pay for services like IT support or graphic design. Dublin 8 has a strong community spirit, so I’m hopeful that this concept of a new community currency will both boost health and wellbeing and stimulate community engagement.”
Best of luck to all involved in this pilot project - no doubt there will be plenty more to follow!
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
.png)
WeWALK, RNIB, and ICL consortium secures UKRI funding to improve mobility for visually impaired and elderly.
The impact of standards, ethics and conduct on business success and profits - Work.Life has some interesting insights...
.png)
The lowdown on Space32 - the startup that wants to help hybrid-working businesses find the working space and solution that's right for them.
.png)
Global Tech for Good initiative seeks innovative startups and scaleups that are creating positive social impact and enhancing people's lives through tech.
The lowdown on Bidnamic, the startup that's combining advance machine learning with human expertise to help retailers to maximise revenue and profitability from Google Shopping.
Innovative Czech fintech startup 4Trans raises investment to expand first of its type AI driven factoring services across Europe.
Edinburgh-based life science company Cytomos secures funding to support further development of its innovative cell analysis tech.
Ethical Equity and Streets Consulting join forces to deliver Founder Workshop to help close the inequality gap in startup to scaleup funding.
Fancy being featured in this year’s SmallBiz100, which showcases the best of Britain’s vibrant small business community? There's just a couple of days left to do just that!
Screenloop secures major investment to support further development of its AI-driven recruitment platform that helps companies build the best teams and removes unconscious bias.
Published on: 6th December 2021
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- Assistive technology innovators and partners awarded £1.7m project funding 1st Jul 2022 WeWALK, RNIB, and ICL consortium secures UKRI funding to improve mobility for visually impaired and elderly.
- How the pandemic affected each industry 27th Jun 2022 New research from School of Marketing reveals the impact that Covid-19 has had on key business sectors in the UK.
- The Finalists of DBACE 2022 are revealed 21st Jun 2022 The lowdown on the innovative young visionaries that are in the running for this year's Deutsche Bank Awards for Creative Entrepreneurs.
- OKAPI: Orbits raises €5.5m for Breakthrough Space Traffic Management Software 13th Jun 2022 Innovative German SaaS startup OKAPI:Orbits secures investment to support its mission of securing efficient and safe operations in space.
