Civic Dollars

Launched in 2021 during the pandemic, the Civic Dollars pilot project, addressed a critical community health challenge – low levels of physical activity, which contribute to issues such as obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. The pilot aimed to test whether a community currency could incentivise users to visit parks and open spaces, based under the assumption that increase physical activity in parks would improve health and wellbeing and reduce anti-social behaviour.

Users could earn Civic Dollars by visiting parks and open spaces, volunteering in community groups, and reporting problems to the city or council. However, users could only exchange their Civic Dollars for rewards that enhance their lifestyle, such as a free swim or gym pass, a public transport voucher, discounts from local businesses, or they could choose to donate their Civic Dollars to a local community group. The community groups were then able to accumulate Civic Dollars and use them for hiring Council facilities or for accessing expertise from businesses (legal, tax, IT, consultancy). The businesses were then able to use their Civic Dollars to reward employees for volunteering in community groups or for walking/cycling to work, completing the “Closed Loop Currency.

The platform created ‘earn zones’ covering selected parks, where each zone was assigned an earn value allowing users to earn Civic Dollars for time spent within the zone. The pilot began by selecting five initial sites in Dublin 8- St. Patrick’s Park, Weaver Park, Grattan Crescent Park, St. Audeon’s Park and Oscar Square Park. The standard rate was 1 Civic Dollar per 30 minutes spent within a zone, with a cap on the amount that could be earned within each zone per day. Steps or distance were not measured, only time spent within the zone. This ensured inclusivity, so that those with mobility and/or health issues were not disadvantaged.

Success was measured by the number of users who sign up, use the app, and the number of transactions that occur – i.e., park visits and time spent within zones, Civic Dollars earned, rewards redeemed, and donations to community groups. Engagement with The Liberties Community Project and the Community Organisations and Residents Network (CORN) helped build relationships with local community groups. Businesses that engaged were able to access a portal to view their ‘social impact’ dashboard. This dashboard provided an overview of their impact on public health and the local community by showing the number of groups they have helped, how many hours of their employees’ time had been used, and how many hours in a park they have encouraged through their involvement in the project.

During the pilot stage, Civic Dollars attracted 1,300 registered users on the platform, with over 2,060 hours spent in parks. More than 1,800 Civic Dollars were earned, with 44% of those donated to community groups. Beyond these quantitative outcomes, the pilot fostered positive social and community effects by reducing barriers to healthy behaviours and encouraging volunteering, sustainable travel, and civic participation.