{"id":1638,"date":"2015-10-28T17:25:47","date_gmt":"2015-10-28T21:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/spacehive-crowdfunding-civic-projects-in-great-britain\/"},"modified":"2015-10-28T17:43:26","modified_gmt":"2015-10-28T21:43:26","slug":"spacehive-crowdfunding-civic-projects-in-great-britain","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/aiinstitute.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/spacehive-crowdfunding-civic-projects-in-great-britain\/","title":{"rendered":"Spacehive: Crowdfunding Civic Projects in Great Britain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Platform model<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spacehive<\/a> is a British crowdfunding platform that funds civic projects that improve neighborhoods and public spaces. It seeks to \u201cmake it as easy as possible for as many people as possible to bring their civic environment to life.\u201d\u00a0Former architecture and urban planning journalist Chris Gourlay founded Spacehive in 2011 because he wanted to democratize urban planning, which he felt was held back by the \u201cmerry-go-round of planning meetings, consultations, fundraising rallies and paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spacehive encourages all project types\u2014big and small\u2014to use its platform. To date, the total value of funded projects is\u00a0\u00a33.8 million, with the average value of a project at\u00a0\u00a328,500.\u00a0Previously funded projects include a community center in South Wales, a collective artists space in Croydon, and a papier mache Queen’s Head for a parade.<\/p>\n

Here is how the funding process works:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Anyone can login and create a project page, which entails describing the project in detail, identifying\u00a0the location, and selecting the fundraising target and deadline.<\/li>\n
  2. Spacehive approves the project.<\/li>\n
  3. Spacehive posts the project.<\/li>\n
  4. Users view projects by type, city and neighborhood and choose which ones to fund.<\/li>\n
  5. If the project reaches its fundraising goal by its deadline, then the project is funded. Like Kickstarter, Spacehive uses an all-or-nothing funding model; projects that fall short of their goal are not funded.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Screen<\/a><\/p>\n

    Spacehive also allows users to create hives, which are incubators for projects that “work by connecting project creators with communities of likeminded supporters\u2014from local people to companies and councils\u2014that want to make things happen”. There are now 35 hives on the platform, and are typically set up around a neighborhood or idea. For example, there is a Save Santa hive that collects Christmas themed projects. There is also the #MakeMCR\u00a0hive, which focuses on projects to improve Manchester. Check out the video below on #MakeMCR:<\/p>\n