My Project for the Planet: Mobilizing Civil Society
In order to’directly involve the French public in climate action, Nicolas Hulot announced a participatory budgeting initiative during the launch of the Climate Plan on July 6, 2017. Through «My Project for the Planet,» citizens are invited to propose projects in the fields of energy, the circular economy, and biodiversity.
The purpose of this call for citizen initiatives is to:
- promote the initiatives and projects of citizens who are actively involved in implementing the Climate Plan;
- to involve citizens in decisions regarding the actions taken to support innovation in the energy, circular economy, and biodiversity sectors.
How can I participate?
This initiative is open to any project leader that is a legal entity under public* or private law. The project may be led by an organization within the social and solidarity economy (SSE)—such as an association, cooperative, mutual insurance company, or foundation—as well as by small organizations (startups, etc.), schools, vocational training centers, and so on.
In addition, the project must meet the following criteria:
- propose practical and concrete solutions that illustrate the guidelines or implementation of the Climate Plan, in connection with the ecological and solidarity-based transition;
- be a grassroots initiative, meaning it must have a local presence in France with a specific scope of implementation (neighborhood, village, city, etc.);
- meet social and environmental objectives;
- promote interaction and engagement among a diverse range of stakeholders.
Project leaders can, for example, propose a project to market wood chips for use in boilers through a short supply chain under the theme of energy; solidarity-based initiatives for the repair or reuse of secondhand items under the theme of the circular economy; or the restoration of local natural habitats under the theme of biodiversity.
Project Selection: The Role of Citizens
The selection process consists of several steps:
- The Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition, ADEME, and the French Agency for Biodiversity are reviewing the eligibility of projects submitted on the platform;
- Three citizen juries—one for each theme—composed of representatives from the ministry, ADEME, and the French Agency for Biodiversity, as well as prominent figures involved in the ecological and solidarity-based transition and members of the public, then select the projects based on evaluation criteria;
- The selected projects are put to a vote by all citizens on the platform.
Those who receive the most votes will receive technical and financial support from ADEME and the French Agency for Biodiversity.
The Calendar
- November 16, 2017: launch of the "My Project for the Planet" platform ;
- November 16, 2017, through February 28, 2018: submission of projects;
- Early April 2018: a day of deliberation by the three citizen juries to select the projects that will be put to a vote by the general public;
- April through May 2018: Voting open to everyone directly on the online platform;
- In May 2018: announcement and launch of the winning projects.
* State agencies and local governments (municipalities, departmental councils, etc.) may not submit proposals.
Download :
- the’poster (PDF – 519.7 KB) ;
- the’infographic (JPG – 138.7 KB).
