Democratic engagement grant: grants awarded

Below lists the organisations who were successful in bidding for funding via the democratic engagement grant for activity between February 2023 and July 2025. Funding figures shown represent the total amount of funding they were awarded, not actual expenditure.

No project has exceeded its budget allocation.

To note: The Politics Project, Swansea MAD, Boys and Girls Club of Wales (2023 to 2024 multi-year project), Scouts Cymru, Elect Her, Eco Hub Aber, Aberystwyth Students Union, Shout Out UK, Tenby Town Council and City of Cardiff Council had their projects extended beyond their original end date of 31 March 2025 to 30 June 2025.

The Politics Project (£208,125: 2 year and 1 month project, ends 31 March 2025) will continue to run their successful Digital Dialogue Sessions in schools across Wales. The sessions allow young people to ask questions and discuss issues of importance to them to their elected representative. Throughout the life of the project, the aim is to deliver 160 engagements between young people and politicians, working with 80 schools in total from 2022 to 2023 through to the end of 2024 to 2025.

Ceredigion County Council (£10,000) will create content specifically designed to reach out and engage with qualifying foreign nationals in their communities.

City of Cardiff Council in partnership with Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council and Vale of Glamorgan Council (£6922) are creating digital content (videos) in multiple languages focusing on what to expect at a polling station.

City of Cardiff Council (£984) have been awarded funding for a second, separate project which is focused on engaging and working with members of the Gypsy and Traveller community on the importance of democracy through workshops.

Democracy Club (£35,000) will look to expand their poll station finder’s capabilities to include more accessibility information about the buildings that host polling places.

I Have a Voice (£11,763) will train and support young people studying in colleges in the Colleges Wales network to deliver voter registration drives in their college.

Innovate Trust (£27,811.60) will raise democratic awareness, increase voter registration and participation amongst people with learning disabilities in Wales.

Llanelli Town Council (£1000) will produce materials and run sessions in local schools focusing on good citizenship, the role of the Mayor in Llanelli, why we vote and the history of voting and democracy.

Llansteffan and Llanybri Community Council (£940) will establish a Youth Forum, encouraging young people to be involved with local issues and have a strong link with the Community Council (Youth Forum reps will attend meetings and cover topics of interest).

PLANED (£15,000) will hold activities centred around connecting young people to elected officials from town and community councils in west Wales.

South Riverside Community Centre (£1000) will support the democratic engagement of foreign nationals living in Cardiff, specifically asylum seekers, refugees and migrants for whom English is a second language.

Tenby Town Council (£1000) will establish a community forum to increase participation in their community on local matters.

Vocal Eyes (£3625.20) project ended early as the company informed Welsh Government officials of their inability to continue delivery in line with their grant award letter.

Y Tŷ Gwyrdd (£1600) will hold a ‘People’s Assembly’ focusing on how to make a community more sustainable, involving people in deliberative democracy and look to help people not normally engaged and vocal in local democratic processes, to find their voice.

Boys and Girls Club Wales (£109,684.95: 2-year project, ends 31 March 2025) will continue to run their Pizza and Politics workshops and Raise your Voice Projects, with an emphasis on those who are marginalised. Including: people from ethnic minority backgrounds, LGBTQ+ young people and disabled young people and those with poor mental health.

British Deaf Association (£33,165.96: 2-year project, ends 31 March 2025) will run in-person and digital workshops to their stakeholders on how democracy works to empower Deaf people.

Swansea MAD (£44,886.90: 2-year project, ends 31 March 2025) will facilitate activities with young people/adults in Swansea (who are underrepresented and/or newly enfranchised), supporting them to engage with the democratic process; promoting/increasing meaningful/sustainable voice/participation and ensuring every citizen in Swansea can play their full part in democracy.

Scouts Cymru (£17,720) will strengthen their Democracy Challenge Badge, creating an engaging programme to involve young people in the democratic process of Wales. It will create a blended approach combining existing activities for the challenge badge with digital resources, working with the Electoral Commission and participatory events with the Welsh Centre for International Affairs.

Elect Her (£53,534.88) aim to help women to engage with democracy, designing and developing and develop a series of digital resources for grassroots women’s community groups to host democracy circles, demystifying democracy and supporting women to develop action plans for engagement. Alongside this, digital resources will be created, and training courses delivered specifically for Welsh women including self-led downloadable resources, video recordings, blended learning courses to equip them to move through the journey towards elected office.

Eco Hub Aber (£11,490) will enhance a popular existing community App to promote greater understanding of democracy and easier pathways for engagement. The grant will fund an additional democratic engagement section on the app to allow users to easily access information about democracy and be directed to relevant websites.

Aberystwyth Students Union (£23,870) aim to increase student participation and engagement with the democratic process in Wales, including creating content tailored towards the interests of students, holding voter registration drives and supporting students to engage with elected officials.

Aberystwyth Students Union (£7130) This separate project utilising the same activity but allows for a coordinator specifically focused on engaging and supporting international students with their democratic rights in Wales.

Shout Out UK (£15,583.86) will deliver media literacy training directly to young people in via schools on drop-down days, with a specific focus on students in years 11, 12 and 13, aiming to reach 330 students’ total. The training will equip students with the knowledge and skills to identify various forms of misinformation, disinformation and extremist content, understand the motivations behind their dissemination and critically evaluate information sources in line with the Digital Competence Framework of the Curriculum for Wales.

Tenby Town Council (£984) will continue with their youth and community forums which were created in 2023 to 2024 with support from this grant, with the aim to continue increasing participation in their community on local matters.

Boys and Girls Club Wales (£9497) assemble a diverse steering group consisting of marginalised young people who are care-experienced, LGBTQ+, homeless, adopted, travellers, ethnic minorities, and have disabilities from their partnerships and clubs. The steering group will collaborate in selecting impactful clips, drafting educational content, and providing personal insights to ensure the toolkit accurately reflects their experiences and needs. This toolkit will include guidelines, tips, and real-life examples to help politicians engage effectively with young people facing trauma and life challenges.

City of Cardiff Council (£3775.50) will hold their 'Democracy in Action' workshop. The workshop will allow Democracy Ambassadors from the 7 partnering schools to see what activities they could do in their setting. The workshop will contain 4 different activities: different governments lecture, a mock election, local ideas workshop with councillors and meet the lord mayor.

Llanelli Township (£1000: 2-month pilot (completed)) will run a series of public engagement sessions across Llanelli, targeting a diverse cross-section of the local population. Activities will include interactive displays, workshops, and informal open consultations hosted at accessible community venues. Sessions will be designed to demystify governance structures, show how community benefit societies and community interest companies interface with public authorities, and provide practical ways people can get involved.