2018/2019 Civic Hive Fellowship Program

November  2018 – August 2019

The Civic Hive fellowship program started last year where it featured solutions that are fixing Nigeria, one at a time. Our focus is to deepen the civic technology and government technology space in Nigeria, thus strengthening the ability of citizens to influence sustainable change. We are focused on strengthening the bond between citizens and the government geared towards a more equitable society that works for all.

This year, our fellowship program will be more focused on Transparency/Accountability, Civic Participation, and Institutional Efficiency. We are looking for solutions that advance transparency, accountability, and civic engagement in thematic sectors.  We do not mind the scale of the solutions – local or hyperlocal – and we are open to the diverse use of technology – radio, text, print, IoT, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or social media – as a channel. We are more focused on the impact on the people, the sustainability of ideas to deliver value, and the unrelenting spirit of the applicant.

Open Call: Application starts on November 19, 2018 (9:00a.m. WAT) and will end on December 21, 2018 (5:00p.m. WAT). We project that the fellowship should be able to accommodate six innovative civic-tech/govtech solutions.

 

Interviews: Due to the number of expected applications, we will conduct reviews and interviews in January. Interviews will be done by our selected team of judges which include experienced civil society leaders, private sector experts, and ex-leads of government institutions.

 

Announcement: The announcement of winners will be done on February 22, 2018. Fellows will be informed earlier to ensure media materials are provided for the announcement. The inaugural session for the 2018/2019 cohort will be on March 4, 2019, and will end on August 31, 2019. Winners will be allowed to work freely,  receive mentorship for a period and additional support till December 2019.

 

Benefits: We will provide a monthly stipend of N150,000 meant to cover feeding and accommodation. We will also hold two rounds of engagements with donors and stakeholders on the ideas to receive feedback and potential support. Other sessions on grant report writing, team management, finance management, and project management will be handled by the  Civic Hive Team.

Civic Hive does not guarantee receipt of donor/for-profit support to winners nor success of the idea. We are open to failure and fatigue by the winners of this call and using an inclusive approach, we reserve the right to drop any of the winners along the process.

In the first cohort, we were able to provide extended support of $200,000 to only three ideas out of seven potential ones. We are glad of the growing impact of Gavel, Amplify, and PLSI as well as the support of Luminate, OSIWA, and Trust Africa. We are willing to share our methods, practices, and networks to deepen the civic-tech/gov-tech sector in Nigeria.

 

Impact so far 

Gavel: This Civic tech solution has been able to reach over 2 million people online and also over 100 people offline giving them legal representations. The team has been able to also build a solution called  Justice Clock. The Justice Clock helps to count the number of days an individual awaiting trial has spent behind bars and helps activate the ACJA laws. The team also worked to put an end to the SARS menace ravaging the country through the #EndSars Campaign.

Amplify: This civic tech solution has gone beyond borders, shedding light on places where the government has refused to take developments.  The team has been able to tour all southwestern and south-southern states of Nigeria to tell the gory stories we have in there. This platform has helped to bring light to a community that has not had electricity in 40 years. This platform has been able to reach over 1 million people online and over 10 communities offline.