On 17 January 2008, Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, announced five core initiatives that will be the focus of its philanthropic efforts over the next five to ten years. The announcement included US$ 25 million (EUR 16.9 million) in new grants and investments to initial partners.

One of the five core Google.org initiatives is “Inform and Empower to Improve Public Services“, which aims to improve the flow of vital information to improve basic services for the poor in India and East Africa. Google.org supports efforts to provide information to empower citizens and communities, providers, and policy makers to improve the delivery of essential public services such as education, health, water and sanitation.

Initial grants include:

US$ 660,000 (EUR 445,000) to the Center for Policy Research, an action oriented think tank based in India, to increase the debate and discourse on issues of urban local governance and urban service delivery. With the rapid expansion of cities in India, the goal is to provide policy makers the necessary information to make more informed decisions.

Google.org is not accepting unsolicited proposals for the initiative at this time.

Web site: Google.org - “Inform and Empower to Improve Public Services“

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Source: Google, 17 Jan 2008

Tags: policies & legislation