The Greater London Authority (GLA) democratic participation grants programme is currently supporting 11 equity-led organisations to increase democratic participation across London.
Phase 3 runs from September 2024 to June 2025.
Read more about projects delivered in previous phases of the programme.
Programme framework
Phase 3 marks an evolution in our approach, moving beyond raising awareness of the specific voting system changes covered in previous phases, to support broader impartial civic and democratic participation.
The current programme provides grants of between £10,000 and £25,000 to equity-led organisations, alongside a dedicated £12,500 accessibility support fund managed by Groundwork London.
Our funded projects focus on:
- increasing political literacy by providing knowledge and tools
- helping Londoners overcome barriers to democratic participation
- supporting communities to participate in civic life
- building capacity in civil society organisations to embed democratic participation in their work
During this delivery phase all funded organisations will collect data about:
- engagement with under-represented communities
- support provided for democratic participation
- resources created and distributed
- geographic reach across London
A full evaluation of the impact of phase 3 will be published in late 2025.
Current projects
Find out about each of the current projects that are helping to increase democratic participation in London.
Age UK East London’s ‘Speak Up, Sign Up Project’ is helping older East Londoners to understand and act on changes to voting requirements, especially the need for a photo Voter ID. Early activities have engaged residents through community meetings. Information stalls and digital inclusion sessions. Age UK East London will also share information with other London-based Age UK partners.
Disability Action Haringey
Disability Action Haringey's ‘Empowering Voices: civic engagement for all’ project is enhancing political literacy among deaf and disabled Londoners. Their workshops, advice sessions and social media activity are supporting participants to better understand their democratic rights.
Empowering Deaf Society's ‘Your Vote, Your Voice’ project is helping Deaf Londoners to register to vote and to apply for Voter Authority Certificates. Political literacy workshops provide opportunities for deaf people to understand and engage with civic and democratic life. including meeting local representatives.
Faiths Forum for London's ‘Faith in Democracy Project’ supports young Londoners to understand how they can engage with democracy and influence local decision-making. The project has engaged students at Freshers Fairs and formed a youth forum, so young people can share their knowledge in places of worship.
Kosovar Albanian Youth Against Violence
Kosovar Albanian Youth Against Violence's ‘Change Makers’ project provides democratic participation support to the Albanian- speaking Communities in London through regular drop-in sessions and workshops.
LGBT HERO’s ‘Empowering LGBTQ+ Voices: Civic Engagement and Voter Participation’ project is expanding its Voter ID hub to support LGBT Londers to engage more in democracy and local decision making. Their outreach sessions and social media activity with a particular focus on transgender and non-binary Londoners, are supporting participants to better understand their civic and democratic rights.
Partnership for Young London
Partnership for Young London's ‘Care Leaders’ project is tailored to the needs of care experienced young people supporting them to register to vote and to apply for photo Voter ID. Their political literacy workshops and network of community champions are supporting young people to engage with democracy and local decision making.
Romanian Culture and Charity Together
Romanian Culture and Charity Together’s ‘Voting and Representation for Romanian and Romanian Roma Community’ supports Romanian and Romanian Roma Londoners to register to vote, apply for accepted photo Voter ID and improve their political literacy. Their outreach in collaboration with partner organisations includes information sessions, social media meet-ups and tailored community information videos.
Southeast and East Asian Women’s Association
The Southeast and East Asian Women's Association’s ‘Vote for Rights for Women from East and Southeast Asia (ESEA)’ Project is addressing the participation barriers that migrant women face engaging with democracy and local decision making through information sessions, including collective outreach and tailored social media posts.
The Politics Project’s ‘On the Table’ project is developing tools for youth practitioners to support political literacy discussions in non-formal youth spaces. The focus will be to support young people with low levels of social trust and political literacy.
Voice4Change England's ‘Your Voice Your Democracy’ project is delivering workshops and creating resources to engage Black and Minoritised Ethnic (BME) communities through better access to reliable information on civic and democratic participation. They do this through stakeholder engagement, by holding round-table discussions, workshops and social media campaigns.
