News Media Contacts

City of Durham Communications Department: CommsMedia@DurhamNC.gov

Durham County Public Information Office: PublicInformationOffice@dconc.gov



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DURHAM, N.C. – The City of Durham’s second round of participatory budgeting will look a bit different in an effort to respond to community needs stemming from COVID-19.

During the first cycle of funding last year, over 10,000 residents participated in Participatory Budgeting Durham (PB Durham), which is a democratic process that allows residents to directly decide how to spend part of the public budget. During PB Durham Cycle 1, residents submitted ideas, served as budget delegates, and voted on how $2.4 million was spent on one-time community projects in each of the city’s three wards.

As Durham continues to deal with the impacts of COVID-19, the second cycle of PB Durham funding will look a bit different with a new scope. This year, PB Durham has formed a grant program for Durham-based nonprofits and community organizations offering COVID-19 relief assistance. To do this, the City Council approved $1 million for organizations directly serving residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as organizations addressing issues contributing to racial, economic, and social injustices in the Bull City. The selected non-profits and/or community organizations will be eligible to receive up to $50,000 in grant funding to help them provide services or programming in communities most adversely impacted by the current pandemic.

In order to help rank priority areas to receive funding, residents are invited to participate in a short online survey. The survey, now available in English or Spanish, is available from January 25 through February 14, 2021. Residents who submit their responses will also be eligible to win a $100 VISA gift card for participating.

According to Participatory Budgeting Manager Andrew Holland, this year’s funding cycle is designed to help those who have been most impacted by COVID-19. “It’s important that we seek the input from our most vulnerable and underserved community members, especially during this pandemic, as they have been the most impacted as a result of COVID-19,” Holland said. “Moreover, PB Cycle 2 allows our Durham based non-profits and community organizations to assist with providing COVID-19 relief assistance to these communities.”

After the survey closes, nonprofit and community organizations will then be encouraged to submit proposals later next month that directly addresses the needs identified through the online resident survey. Once proposals are received, City staff and residents serving as budget delegates will review and score the proposals based on feasibility, legality, and project budgets. Then, in spring 2021, all city residents and students 13 years and older will have an opportunity to vote on the project proposals to select which non-profits and community organizations will receive funding for their projects beginning in July 2021.

For more information about PB Durham Cycle 2 grant funding, visit the PB Durham website, email PB Durham staff, or call (984) 227-3395. Residents may also follow this initiative for the latest updates on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

News Media Contact
Amy Blalock, Public Affairs Manager
919.560.4123 x11253 | 919.475.7735 (mobile)
Amy.Blalock@DurhamNC.gov

Applications Accepted January 14 — February 15

DURHAM, N.C. – Local startups and entrepreneurs looking for a way to develop and test their products and services may now apply for the 2021 Innovate Durham program.

Innovate Durham, a partnership between the City and County of Durham that allows entrepreneurs to use local government as a laboratory to test products and ideas, is now taking applications for its fourth cohort from Thursday, January 14 through Monday, February 15.

An informational webinar will be held on Thursday, February 4 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will include time for questions about this year’s iteration of the program. Interested parties can register for the webinar now on the Innovate Durham webpage.

This year, the program will be conducted virtually in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Selected startups and entrepreneurs will begin testing their products or services with access to City and County staff, data and facilities in May, followed by a ‘Demo Day’ to showcase the results of their work in late September.

According to Monica Croskey Chaparro, director of the City’s Office of Performance and Innovation, the City and County are looking for local partners to help advance each organization’s priorities. “Innovate Durham has been instrumental in advancing our City’s vision,” Chaparro said. “We’re excited to have Innovate Durham return in a modified, virtual offering because if 2020 taught us anything, it’s that we must be able to adapt to effectively manage, and even excel, through disruption. The mutually beneficial tools that startups and local governments share through Innovate Durham cultivate the process of discovery, engineering and transformation necessary for innovation to continue in our community.”

During the 2019 program, six Durham-based companies worked closely with the City, County, and Durham Public Schools in order to bring new innovative solutions to local government. Some of these solutions included an air conditioning and refrigeration monitoring system; a calendaring app to improve school event scheduling; technology to assess existing recycling infrastructure; a real-time needs registry for crisis response; technology to automate complex business processes; and critical reasoning assessments for prospective employees.

According to Chaparro, working with the City or County can help the selected entrepreneurs by providing them with direct feedback on their idea from staff or residentswhile also serving as a valuable use case for their products or service. “In return for partnering with the start-ups, our organizations hope to learn about new technologies and ideas that could improve the delivery of services or solve problems for our staffs,” Chaparro said.

Participants will have the same access and opportunities in working with Durham County, said Michael Davis, strategic initiative manager for Durham County. “As we continue to pursue new ideas and encourage organizational learning, Innovate Durham has been an exciting way for our departments to partner with companies,” said Davis.  “We’re thrilled that our local governments can collaborate again with entrepreneurs, allowing us to be learning labs across sectors.”

To apply for the Innovate Durham Program, an application form must be completed. Applicants will be evaluated on a variety of criteria and a select number will be invited to partner with the City and County in this 16-week program.

For more information or to submit an online application, visit the Innovate Durham webpage or contact Strategy and Performance Analyst Darin Johnson with the City’s Budget and Management Services Department at darin.johnson@durhamnc.gov, or ICMA Fellow Nathalie Floyd for the City and County of Durham at nfloyd@dconc.gov. 

News Media Contacts

Amy Blalock, Public Affairs Manager, City of Durham

919.560.4123 x11253 | 919.475.7735 (mobile)

Amy.Blalock@DurhamNC.gov

Dawn Dudley, Sr. Public Information Specialist, Durham County

919.560.0008

ddudley@dconc.gov