Nets4Dem Democratic Innovations Awards

Guidelines for applicants

 

What it is
The Nets4Dem Democratic Innovation Awards recognise and celebrate democratic innovations that have been improved, developed, or implemented with support from Nets4Dem capacity building programmes, including Democracy Labs (DL), Rising Stars (RS) mentorships, and the Democratic Innovations Accelerator (DIA).

Why we organise this
The Awards aim to:

  • Acknowledge the work of programme participants and the concrete outcomes of Nets4Dem support
  • Showcase inspiring approaches and enable peer learning across cities and organisations
  • Strengthen the network by highlighting good practice and collaboration
  • Create visibility for democratic innovation at local level, including implementation lessons.

Who is eligible
Eligible applicants are organisations and local governments that participated in one (or more) Nets4Dem capacity-building programme (Democracy Labs, Rising Stars, Democratic Innovations Accelerator) and that:

  • have implemented the project, or
  • are actively implementing it (i.e., beyond concept stage, with clear steps and evidence of progress).

We encourage applications from both finalised and recently started projects.

Assessment criteria
Applications will be assessed against criteria such as:

  • Inclusiveness and diversity (who was meaningfully reached and how barriers were reduced)
  • Multi-level collaboration / governance (coordination across levels and institutions, where relevant)
  • Involvement of local stakeholders (community actors, civil society, and/or affected groups)
  • Innovation and relevance (context-specific)
  • Evidence of outcomes/learning (impact where measurable; otherwise learning and early signals)

Award categories
Awards will be granted in three categories:

  1. Impact Award – for mature, implemented initiatives where impact and outcomes can be evidenced.
  2. Emerging Innovation Award – for early-stage initiatives that are already in implementation and show strong promise and design quality.
  3. Inclusion Award – for initiatives that enable meaningful participation of people from diverse backgrounds, particularly groups who are often under-represented in decision-making. Projects can be at different implementation stages.

Awards jury will decide on which category the winning projects best fit.

Selection process
Applicants will submit through a dedicated online application form. Winners will be selected by an independent expert panel composed of Nets4Dem members, using an agreed assessment rubric.

Recognition and visibility
Awardees will be invited to the Nets4Dem Conference in Brussels on 5 May 2026, where they will take part and speak in a dedicated panel, and receive their awards during the closing ceremony. Travel expenses of awardees will be covered by the project. In addition, the winning initiatives will be featured in communication materials and articles published by Nets4Dem and Eurocities. Awardees will also be invited for an interview to help further highlight their work, achievements and key learnings.

Timeline

  • 9–27 March – Call for applications
  • 30 March–10 April – Applications review + expert panel deliberation meeting
  • Week of 13 April – Notify winners and send invitations to Brussels conference

How to apply

Cities and organisations interested in submitting an application are asked to complete the online application form by Friday, 27 March 2026.

All applicants will be notified about the application results after 13 April 2026.

If you have questions regarding this call or Nets4Dem, please contact the Nets4Dem coordinators at Eurocities:

Aleksandra Ziętek aleksandra.zietek@eurocities.eu and Clementine Daubeuf clementine.daubeuf@eurocities.eu .