Long live the Queen! And the crowdsourcing model for civic projects.

A few weeks ago, we introduced you to an interesting crowdfunding project in the Netherlands to build a bridge. Today, we would like to introduce you to another crowdfunding initiative from across the pond - this time, a giant floating replica of the Queen of England’s head.

Yes, you read that right. This odd and interesting project was successfully crowdfunded on Spacehive.com - a “funding platform for neighbourhood improvement projects” in the UK.

We are big fans of what Spacehive is doing. In fact, it’s very similar to what we are building here in the US with Citizinvestor. However, there is one fundamental and significant difference between Spacehive’s model and what we are building with Citizinvestor.

We believe that having citizens crowdfund civic projects will work best when projects have already been scored and approved by a government entity. We believe the best approach is to ensure that there is government buy-in for a project before citizens invest, that way they can be confident that if the project meets its funding goal, it will be built.

That said, we also believe that there must be a place for citizens to come to organize projects that municipalities either haven’t approved or haven’t thought of yet. Citizinvestor will give citizens the ability to propose the projects they want with petitions that, once reaching a certain number of signatures, we will help usher through the proper government channels.

Using crowdfunding to fund civic projects is a new and innovative idea. We are not saying there’s a right or wrong way to do it, but this is our way. We would love to hear what you think!

“Crowd-Sourcing can’t build a bridge” Or can it?

Atlantic Cities (a great resource for those involved in urban revitalization) has recently explored the rebuilding of Cities across the United States.  In the latest piece, author David Lepeska looks at how local community activists and Mayors are using innovative techniques to tackle large-scale problems. Ester Fuchs, director of Columbia University’s Urban and Social Policy program, has noticed the same trend saying that, “Cities that are experiencing turnaround have mayors and city councils that have essentially pushed the envelop and grabbed the authority to deal with their problems.”

Nik Theodore, director of the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois-Chicago, adds, “Communities are finding a way to rebuild, we’re seeing in U.S. cities a move to try to open up planning and decision-making and come up with new ideas.”

The key here is the buy-in from the community that leads to new solutions and a greater sense of togetherness.

“It’s similar to business incubators, with groups working together, pooling resources to grow and create,” says Fuchs, author of Mayors and Money: Fiscal Policy in New York and Chicago. “It’s essentially building these places up from the bottom so they are once again viable from the view of city government. They don’t just energize, they become the engine that leads to better city governance.”

Fuchs sees a limitation and argues that, “Crowd-sourcing can’t build bridges. This idea that you can bring in a nonprofit and build an efficient solution and then magically bring that to scale, that’s a pipe dream. We need the people to shake things up, but nothing can really be brought to scale without government.”

Let me reiterate that last sentence again: “nothing can really be brought to scale without government.” We couldn’t agree with Fuchs more. Nothing in the public works space (parks, pools, speed bumps, skate parks, trails etc.) can be brought to life without buy-in from government. But how do you couple this reality with the creativity of citizens and their willingness to invest in projects they truly care about?

This is exactly the problem that Citizinvestor is solving. By bringing these government projects to the table and posting them on a platform where citizens can financially invest in the projects they care about most, we believe citizens crowdsourcing CAN and will build bridges.

Built by the People

In the Netherlands, citizens are banding together to build a bridge that will allow pedestrians to travel safely over a series of highways and connect two parts of the city that have been separated for years. And they are using crowdfunding to do it.

Citizens of Rotterdam have been given a platform to buy wooden planks that will make up the completed promenade. As of the time of this post, more than 1,000 citizens have invested in the project, well on their way to hitting their goal.

This is a great example of crowdfunding being used to allow citizens to invest in the projects they care about most - in this case, a promenade. As we inch closer to launching Citizinvestor to the world, we are encouraged by the success these concepts are seeing in communities overseas. We can’t wait to bring this opportunity for crowdfunding projects like this to the States!