Digital Citizens programme objectives
British Council’s Digital Citizens Programme aims at whole-society to 1) improve 21st century skills, especially in relation to critical thinking and disinformation recognition, 2) enhance social-cohesion between communities, 3) facilitate community access to culture, civic society activity and education.
The Digital Citizenship methodology builds on the previous People to People approach on strengthening social cohesion in a bid to enhance resilience to information disorder. It goes beyond technical digital skills and focuses on values-drive, responsible, ethical, and safe use of technology to engage in online communities. It involves having the skills and knowledge to navigate digital environments safely, protect privacy, behave respectfully, and understand the real-world impact of online actions on oneself and others.
The objective of programme is to be gained via two outcome areas:
Outcome area 1: Young people, including those in multiplier and influence roles improve their understanding and commitment to social cohesion and civic values, thus strengthening their resilience to disinformation.
Outcome area 2: The UK and British Council’s evidence and knowledge base on social cohesion and values-based responses to disinformation threat is expanded and applied to improve this and future interventions, including through British Council led research, communities of practice and continuous project MEL.
Target Audiences
Programme’s target audiences are those individuals/communities/institutions which:
- Live in remote areas, or regions close to the Russian/Belarusian borders and may speak the language other than that of the majority population;
- May be disconnected from civic life or may be defined as hard to reach and isolated communities;
- May be described as refugee and/or migrant communities, especially from Ukraine.
Activities that foster policy and community dialogue, as well as cross-institutional collaboration and institutional capacity building are particularly welcomed to participate in the programme.
Available funding
Funding for project activities is available in amount up to 20 000 EUR per project.
Project duration
The implementation of the project activities has to be completed by 31 August, 2027.
How to apply
- Interested organisations are invited to submit a concept note for consideration (see below Concept Note Template). Concept notes will be assessed by the programme team and short-listed applicants will be invited to submit a complete application form.
- Complete applications will enter a competitive process and will be assessed by the project team and experts, and successful applicants will be informed in writing by e-mail.
- The deadline for submitting Concept notes is 6 November, 2026, 9 am. The planned project implementation has to comply with the programme timeframe (until 31 August, 2027).
- Concept notes should be submitted by email with a subject line “Digital Citizens Project Concept Note” to dominyka.umbrasaite@britishcouncil.org. The average duration for the review of Concept note is up to 1-2 weeks. DOWNLOAD THE CONCEPT NOTE TEMPLATE HERE (and attach it).
Selection process
Complete and eligible applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
| Criteria | Maximum score (total 30) |
| 1. Relevance The project aim and planned activities are relevant to DC programme. The project is innovative, achievable in the time frame, has adequate and well-thought project design, and it clearly responds to one or two Outcome areas (see Outcome areas). |
10 |
| 2. Audience The project has a clear description on the target audience and the ways in which audiences will be reached. The target audience is relevant to the DC programme. At least one specific beneficiary group is included as target audience (see description at Target audiences). |
10 |
| 3. Experience The previous experience of the people/organisations involved is strongly related to the outcome area or to carrying out similar project activities. |
5 |
| 4. Co-funding and Sustainability There is a co-funding planned in project budget (guarantee letters from co-funders will have to be attached with the full application). Substantial sustainability measures are provisioned. |
5 |
Notification
NB!!! This form should be used to describe a project concept prior to submitting a full project proposal. British Council may approve or reject a concept for development into a full proposal.
When British Council approves a concept and invites an implementer to submit a full project proposal, it is not a guarantee that the full project proposal will be approved for funding. Approval of a concept signals the British Council interest in receiving further details about the proposed project.