Neighbourhood-improvement projects win a crore in grants

In December 2015, United Technologies Corporation
announced winners of the Neighbourhood Improvement Partnership (NIP) challenge,
an initiative under its ‘Citizens for the City’ programme. The winning projects
are primarily focused at holistic development of the community, in particular mobility,
waste management, public safety, water quality, and upgrading public
spaces.

In a media release shared with CauseBecause, the
quote from Ashok Mirchandani, managing director, Carrier Transicold, Asia
Pacific, United Technologies, reads, ‘Communities in Bengaluru have shown that
they are willing to come forward and be solution finders rather than mere
critics of the challenges they are confronted with. Through our ‘Citizens for
the City’ campaign, we have sparked a movement that will see more neighbourhoods
finding solutions to some of the pressing urban challenges.’

Launched in May 2015, the Neighbourhood Improvement
Partnership challenge received 86 proposals from across Bengaluru. Of these, 32
were shortlisted to present projects in detail and 12 were declared winners. About
one crore rupees will be collectively shared among the winners.

Centre for Public Problem Solving (CPPS) and WRI-India
in partnership with United Way of Bengaluru (UWBe), Bangalore Politcal Action
Committee (BPAC) and The PRactice initiated the Neighborhood Improvement
Challenge.CPPS and WRI-India will work
with communities and monitor the progress of the work until project completion,
while UWBe will be responsible for fund disbursements to all relevant parties.