The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland is a local, independent charitable foundation. The Foundation was established in 1979 and to date has awarded over £100 million in grants to individuals and local communities.

We help communities in need, drive social change and change lives through impactful grant making and the delivery of innovation programmes.

The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland has been leading the way in Civic Innovation since 2014. Playing an integral role in the Building Change Trust's Civic Activism programme, we funded the first ever Citizen's Assembly for Northern Ireland, and supported the establishment of Participatory Budgeting Works, the NI Open Government Network and FactCheck NI. 

Now, working with a range of partners, organisations and consortium of funders, the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland has now delivered the first ever Civic Innovation Programme. A programme that aimed to deepen local democracy in Northern Ireland, by bringing together individuals, voluntary and social enterprise organisations to design and deliver a range of public participation projects to address a democratic challenge.  With over £900.000 invested in community led civic innovation projects, communities across Northern Ireland have tried and tested a range of democratic innovations that put people at the heart of decision making in Northern Ireland. 

This website is a resource for those wishing to learn about the work and development of civic innovation in Northern Ireland, so that future innovation builds on the success (and failures) of others!