Choose one EU-funded projects from your Country’s Open Data portal. If necessary, ask for help for using the data. You can pick an interesting project in your city or neighborhood — or a project that has made the headlines in your local newspapers.

Participate in a civic monitoring group or create a new one! Check if local schools or NGOs are already in action. Look at the reports already published in your Country and contact the authors.

Learn everything you need about administrative procedures and decisions, news, and contextual data. Look for official policy documents and get help in translating them into plain language.

Make photos, videos, and publish them on social media. Identify key people involved in policy programming and project implementation. Plan ahead for your interviews and ask about challenges and opportunities.

Create a civic monitoring report following the first two steps. Describe the project in your own words. Evaluate its current progress. If the project is finished, evaluate its effectiveness from the point of view of your community. Be concise and clear, write for a wide audience.

Share what you have found with policymakers, journalists, and interested citizens. Set up a campaign with local media and NGOs to further communicate the positive results of the project or to make suggestions on how to improve it. Try collaboration first 😉

Use the third step of your report to tell your audience about the new connections you have made, the use of your results by public administrations and the media, and if the problems you have found are solved.