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Democracy in Action Fund

The RDL Democracy in Action Fund supports innovative, interactive civic opportunities that engage participants in practicing democracy on campus or in the community.

An Invitation to Experiment

The Democracy in Action Fund is designed to connect democratic ideas with living experiences; encourage experimentation with new democratic formats and practices; support cross‑campus and community collaborations; and address urgent public challenges. Building on the civic experimentation catalyzed by past RDL initiatives, like Democracy Month in fall 2025 and Solving Grand Challenges Month in spring 2026, the Fund provides flexible, short‑term support for events, workshops, and public engagement that address pressing democratic and community challenges.

convo

Focus Areas for Funding

The Fund provides up to $5,000 to support interactive democracy activities and prioritizes participatory, creative, and action‑oriented formats that invite students, faculty, staff, and community members to collectively explore problems.

Funded projects should prioritize democratic practice, shared learning, and public engagement while clearly aligning with one or more of the following focus areas:

Students stand in front of "Vote for Tomorrow" poster

Public Spaces, Arts, and Civic Life

Projects that explore, mobilize, or interrogate the role of the arts in democratic life. This includes creative practice, cultural production, and arts‑based research that foster civic imagination, collective memory, political expression, public dialogue, or democratic belonging.

Students participate in the Pass the Problem: Solving Grand Challenges activity

Dialogue Across Difference

Initiatives that foster constructive dialogue across political, racial, economic, religious, generational, or ideological divides, particularly those that test new formats, pedagogies, or facilitation models.

Students at a policy workshop

Technology and Democracy

Projects that critically examine or creatively deploy technology in democratic life, including AI, social media, civic tech, platform governance, digital equity, and the future of democratic institutions in a technological society.

RDL Convening Day 3 Rutgers Club

Public Engagement

Projects that encourage democratic participation, civic learning, or public problem-solving at local, state, national, or global levels, including partnerships with communities, governments, schools, or civil society organizations.

Funding Details

Before starting your application, please see all funding details below:

  • These funds are not meant for conferences, panels, or lecture series that do not include a substantive interactive component. This means funded projects will actively engage participants and encourage dialogue and collaboration through a community-based lens. Projects may include, but are not limited to:

    • Participatory workshops or civic labs
    • Civic design projects and activities that build civic networks 
    • Arts‑based civic engagement and storytelling initiatives
    • Public dialogues or community forums that are co-creative 
    • Interactive simulations, role‑plays, or deliberative exercises
    • Skill‑building or civic learning intensives
    • Public problem‑solving or democracy innovation pilots

    In short, engagement must be integral – not supplemental – to funded opportunities.

    • Open to Rutgers faculty, staff, and campus‑affiliated units
    • Cross‑campus, interdisciplinary, and community partnerships are strongly encouraged
    • Projects must take place within your designated funding period (Fall 2026 or Spring 2027)

    NOTE: A separate application for the Student Democracy in Action Fund is forthcoming.

    • Award Size: Up to $5,000
    • Allowable Expenses:
      • Materials and supplies
      • Facilitation and program support
      • Honoraria (as appropriate), speaker travel
      • Space, technology, catering costs
    • Non‑Allowable Expenses:
      • Long‑term staffing or research costs

  • Interested applicants can apply for Democracy in Action Funding here.

    Along with basic information, applicants will also be expected to submit a 2-3 page proposal (template HERE) to detail the following:

    1. Project Overview
       Title, description, organizers, collaborators, and intended audience
    2. Democratic or Community Challenge
       The issue the project addresses and why it matters now
    3. Interactive Design
       Planned activities and experiential learning (what participants will do, create, produce, etc.)
    4. Format and Timeline
       Event structure, dates, and location
    5. Anticipated Outcomes
       Learning, engagement, or civic impact
    6. Fit with RDL
       How the project aligns with the mission of the Democracy Lab
    7. Itemized Budget
       How Democracy in Action funds will be used
       

  • Proposals will be evaluated based on:

    • Strength and intentionality of the interactive design
    • Relevance to democratic or community challenges 
    • Creativity, feasibility, and clarity of goals
    • Potential impact on participants and broader public
    • Alignment with RDL’s mission and thematic focus areas

  • Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with decisions typically announced around the first of each month until available funding is exhausted.