In 2019, Plymouth was a winner of the Cities of Service Engaged Cities Award for its online crowdfunding platform. The award elevates city-led strategies that most successfully engage citizens to help create and implement solutions to pressing local problems. The city partnered with Crowdfund UK to create an online platform where community members and local organizations could propose projects to improve their neighborhoods and residents could support promising ideas with monetary donations. If a project provided a benefit to the community and received public support, the city matched contributions with money from a fund designated to meet community needs.
With the support of the City Councillor Chris Penberthy, Plymouth has been able to deliver citizen engagement and volunteerism programs to address energy use, food security issues, children’s literacy, and supporting people recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Plymouth City Council has successfully partnered with 16 organizations to engage over 250 citizen volunteers who regularly give their time to address the city’s most pressing demands. Plymouth leverages citizen volunteers through their Our Plymouth portal ( https://ourplymouth.co.uk/). Residents can find hundreds of opportunities to help support their community. The portal also includes the latest news about volunteering for the Council and other related projects
Plymouth has been a member of the Cities of Service coalition since 2014.
City Councillor Chris Penberthy
Councillor Chris Penberthy is instrumental in encouraging Plymouth to become a fairer city where everyone does their part.
Senior Policy Advisor Darin Halifax
Darin Halifax is currently the chief service officer for Plymouth City Council, leading all coordination with Cities of Service.