Transforming Digital Communications for the Circular Economy (DIRECT LIFE)
Funders – European Union’s LIFE 2020 Call for proposals for NGOs on the European Green Deal (LIFE 2020 NGO4GD) ; Government of Ireland Climate Action Fund
Duration of Project: October 2021 – September 2023 (23 Months)
Lead on Project: Rediscovery Centre
Status – Closed
Introduction:
Like many other education centres and civil society organisations, the Rediscovery Centre was significantly impacted and restricted by COVID 19 in its delivery of citizens’ awareness, engagement and educational services. To overcome these challenges and continue to deliver on our core objectives to support the transition to a Circular Economy, we required new modern ways of working and engaging a wider audience.
The DIRECT LIFE project was designed to support and grow the Rediscovery centre’s public engagement through state-of-the-art sustainable digital tools and infrastructure, building on market research and best practice. It aims to greatly expand the Rediscovery Centre’s online presence, allowing the centre to engage with a much broader audience.
Background:
The LIFE 2020 Call NGO4GD was designed to support national NGOs to mobilise and strengthen civil society participation and contribute to the European Green Deal goals. This involves becoming a more sustainable economy where economic growth is decoupled from resource use whilst protecting the health and well-being of our planet and its citizens.
This will involve building citizen awareness and engagement on the circular economy, our consumption patterns and reducing waste. However, civil society participation and engagement in the Circular Economy is still relatively low in Ireland: in 2021, only 25% of Irish citizens had heard of the Circular Economy although this figure is improving. New ways to reach and engage citizens, particularly through digital tools, are required.
Objectives of Project:
This DIRECT Life Project (Digital Rediscovery Centre), aims to deliver a modern and robust digital campaign for the promotion of the Circular Economy, building on international best practice and the success of the Rediscovery Centre’s work to date. In so doing, the project contributes to the European Green Deal, the Circular Economy Strategy at national level and also supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals including Goal 12: sustainable production and consumption.
Next Steps:
The DIRECT LIFE project finishes in September of 2023, after the launch of the new low carbon Rediscovery Centre website. The team will continue to work on improving the communications and engagement through the website, social media and Salesforce, a sophisticated tool to help support stakeholder engagement, beyond the end of the project through A/B testing and continued learning.
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