Will the project "Pandemic Prevention Pledge" receive receive any funding from the Clearer Thinking Regranting program run by ClearerThinking.org?

Below, you can find some selected quotes from the public copy of the application. The text beneath each heading was written by the applicant. Alternatively, you can click here to see the entire public portion of their application.

Why the applicant thinks we should fund this project

Pandemics continue to pose a grave existential threat but the government commitment towards addressing them still remains weak. Broadly, to enact policy change for GCBRs, you can either be the actor generating sound policy recommendations or directly lobby them to the key decision makers involved. Given we’re operating at a crucial moment (in the immediate aftermath of COVID), there is a lack of experiential learning and evidence for the potential of a citizen-led advocacy to be an additive tool for policy influence addressing x-risks. 

Our model, if successful, will enable us to build a highly valuable network of key supporters within the parliament for pandemic prevention, whilst sharing informational value for engaging the wider public in x risks cause areas.

Here's the mechanism by which the applicant expects their project will achieve positive outcomes.

MPs (Members of Parliament) in the UK are incentivised to listen to the issues that their constituents or voters are concerned about to grow their supporter base and increase their chances for getting re-elected. Since the first general election in the UK after COVID-19 will be in 2024, we expect this sentiment to be even higher. We employ in-house email technology, which allows a constituent to send a uniquely generated and personalized email to their MP from their own inbox with very low time cost. Employing the technology as one of our campaigning routes, we will mobilize citizens across the UK (650 constituencies) asking their MPs to commit to a public pledge to keep them safe from future pandemics. Of the MPs who decide to sign the pledge, combined with our analysis for identifying high priority MPs to target, we will identify the small group of MPs best positioned to support policy outcomes for pandemic prevention and mitigating biological risks. Equivalents of this advocacy model already exist with some MPs being ambassadors for global health issues (such as TB or Polio within the UK parliament) that help mobilise both budget spends and party influence for these cause areas.

How much funding are they requesting?

$332,100

What would they do with the amount specified?

For a detailed budget breakdown, see this table. 

For an overview, the funding will be used for:

1. 12-month salary for

   1. Project Lead for operations, delivery and management.

   2. Campaign Manager to mobilise the campaign, engage with constituents, liaise with the MPs and political actors, and secreatise the APPG.

   3. Part-time Evaluation Officer to lead on MEL and campaign impact analysis, write reports and publish findings from the RCT experiment and 12-month evaluation for the tested theory of change.

2. Campaign Technology

   1. A temporary software developer for setting up the email campaign technology and webpages.

   2. Targeted advertising spend for Facebook (Meta).

   3. Market research tools for identifying high priority MPs.

   4. Two in-person advocacy events to organize constituent and MP meetings.

Here you can review the entire public portion of the application (which contains a lot more information about the applicant and their project):

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ze9951RZulQ6arv914r6Z2qVO3dfzpLhkDTSu7f4EiM/edit