REDWOOD CITY, CA, December 5, 2012– Omidyar Network today announced the launch of Making All Voices Count: A Grand Challenge for Development, a fund that will support the use of Web and mobile technologies to foster the global movement for open government, transparency and accountability.
The $45 million fund is a public-private collaboration among Omidyar Network, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) and Sweden, through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The fund will seek out and support technology-led organizations focused on developing and scaling innovative tools that provide citizens better ways to engage with their governments and to assist governments in being more responsive to their citizens.
“As the largest fund dedicated to using technology to close the gap between citizens and governments, Making All Voices Count will be a crucial catalyst in accelerating the open government movement,” said Stephen King, partner at Omidyar Network. “Its effectiveness will be realized not solely by the funding it provides, but by the entrepreneurial collaborations it encourages and the replication of successful technology applications it spurs.”
Making All Voices Count is inspired by the Open Government Partnership, a global open government movement focused on elevating government performance, helping new democracies deliver to their citizens, and promoting inclusive development.
The Grand Challenge for Development will begin accepting proposals in Spring 2013 for new applications of science and technology to enhance efforts between governments and citizens which will amplify the voices of citizens, empowering them to bring about change, and will enable governments to be more open transparent, and accountable to their citizens. For more information, visit http://makingallvoicescount.org